Government’s hospital food standards ‘woefully inadequate’

28-Aug-2014 - Last updated on 29-Aug-2014 at 11:54 GMT

Related tags Nutrition

A new set of mandatory standards for healthier food in NHS hospitals have been described as ‘woefully inadequate’

A new set of mandatory standards for healthier food in NHS hospitals have been described as “woefully inadequate” by the Campaign for Better Hospital Food.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt called for the introduction of mandatory food standards across all hospitals that would be “legally binding” and part of every UK hospital’s contract.

However, Alex Jackson, co-ordinator of the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, objected to the government’s refusal to introduce a new law to set hospital food standards as legislation.

‘Pulled the wool over our eyes’

“Jeremy Hunt’s announcement that he will introduce ‘legally-binding’ standards for hospital food appear to fulfil what we have always strived for, yet we’re left feeling that he has pulled the wool over our eyes,” he claimed.

“The government may have inserted a new clause in a legal document, but that won’t be what most people consider to be legally-binding. It’s woefully inadequate.”

As part of the new standards, every patient would be screened for malnutrition and have a food plan that met their social, cultural and clinical needs. Hospitals would be forced to ensure that patients get the help they require to eat and drink.

The other requirements would be that food should be sourced sustainably and that hospital canteens promoted healthy diets for staff and visitors that complied with government regulations on salt and sugar.

Jackson claimed the food standards were weak and only reflected basic catering and care standards which were already commonly implemented in the NHS.

He called for hospital food standards to be set down in legislation, similarly to school food standards, and therefore universally applied to all hospitals and protected by publicly elected representatives.

“The government still refuses to do this and has only committed to including the standards in NHS commissioning contracts, which are long documents full of clauses that without proper enforcement and monitoring can be ignored by hospitals.”

Readily accessible

Dianne Jeffrey, chairman of Age UK and leader of the Hospital Food Standards Panel, said if the standards were implemented the food and drink in hospitals across the country would be tasty and nourishing and readily accessible to patients.

“There are already many hospitals that serve high quality, nutritious, appetising food but until now it’s been up to each hospital to ensure that this is a priority,” she added.

“We believe that if every hospital in the country has an overarching food and drink strategy guided by our recommendations, not only will we help hospital patients at a difficult time in their lives but also support hospital visitors and NHS staff in staying healthy too.”

1 comment

Look for alternatives

Posted by Christopher Durant, 30 August 2014 - 19:08 GMT

I was in the Devon and Exeter Hospital for a month in 2009. The food was pretty poor and I yearned for something fresh and with flavour. I spent some time contacting local restaurants and eventually got one to agree to bring me lunches, but as it turned out, my family started bringing me food so I never did use the restaurant. In retrospect this was a pity because it would have been interesting to see what the reaction would have been from fellow patients and NHS staff.
Later as an occasional out-patient I ate in the Hospital Canteen where the food was excellent but you had to pay for it. This then is the answer - patients who wish to pay for their food should be encouraged to do so (after all they pay for it when they're at home). They should be encouraged to buy from local restaurants, from the hospital canteen or from the hospital kitchen all of which will accept credit and debit cards. Ordering should be available online. The extra money flowing through the system will enable some meals to be subsidised.

This idea provides an element of competition, ensures that people who really care about food are in the loop and also that under performers find their money drying up. Still a problem with the washing up though.

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