Dispatches - Hospital food .. ungrateful?

[sophxx]

We had really good food in my hospital!

To be honest, if people don't like the food, there are shops within the hospital, or you could always order in a McDonalds

theres not always shops and foods banned on our wards at our local hospitals

 

[Aaisrie]

The food in my local hospital is actually quite nice, my mum works there and I go to the cafe for lunch with her sometimes and it's the same food. The only complaint is that inpatient the portions can be a bit on the small side

 

[marie73]

The food in our hospital isnt that bad. I wouldnt eat it out of choice but its not vile. IDK why some people think the NHS is a restaurant or hotel We aren't allowed to reheat patients food from home which kinda sucks.

& Not being funny but if I had a hideous wound or was very ill, I'd eat a scabby horse if I needed to.

Food needs to look appetising in order for people to want to eat it. Lots of people with chronic health problems, who often spend long periods of time in hospital, have poor appetites so need small frequent nutritious meals. Often people have no family to bring food into the hospital to them so are reliant on what they are given. I now work at a hospice and the food is freshly prepared on site and can be much more individualised.

 

[Blah11]

also, until you work in a hospital with patients who are anorexic you have no idea It's HORRID when you have a patient starving themselves to death and you can't do anything to make them eat. You tell them you need to eat or they'll die and docs and dieticians tell them the same and it does no good. IDK if the program was saying that people were getting more ill from not eating but if they were, how nice the food is has nothing to do with it. Horrid.

I am a former anorexic and stayed in inpatient treatment for 4 months. Eating disorder wards are probably one of the most depressing places you could ever stay

I don't actually work in a ED or psych ward. I work in an orthopaedic rehabilation ward for elderly patients.

 

[louandivy]

also, until you work in a hospital with patients who are anorexic you have no idea It's HORRID when you have a patient starving themselves to death and you can't do anything to make them eat. You tell them you need to eat or they'll die and docs and dieticians tell them the same and it does no good. IDK if the program was saying that people were getting more ill from not eating but if they were, how nice the food is has nothing to do with it. Horrid.

I am a former anorexic and stayed in inpatient treatment for 4 months. Eating disorder wards are probably one of the most depressing places you could ever stay

I don't actually work in a ED or psych ward. I work in an orthopaedic rehabilation ward for elderly patients.

Ohh you mean anorexic in the actually not hungry sense That must be so sad to see

 

[Blah11]

The food in our hospital isnt that bad. I wouldnt eat it out of choice but its not vile. IDK why some people think the NHS is a restaurant or hotel We aren't allowed to reheat patients food from home which kinda sucks.

& Not being funny but if I had a hideous wound or was very ill, I'd eat a scabby horse if I needed to.

Food needs to look appetising in order for people to want to eat it. Lots of people with chronic health problems, who often spend long periods of time in hospital, have poor appetites so need small frequent nutritious meals. Often people have no family to bring food into the hospital to them so are reliant on what they are given. I now work at a hospice and the food is freshly prepared on site and can be much more individualised.

I think a lot of the whole apetite thing is to do with patients being bored stiff but thats a whole other ballgame lol

 

[~RedLily~]

Also what about children's wards? If the food is horrible a small child isn't going to eat it and it wouldn't be fair to make parents leave their child to go get them food.

 

[Blah11]

also, until you work in a hospital with patients who are anorexic you have no idea It's HORRID when you have a patient starving themselves to death and you can't do anything to make them eat. You tell them you need to eat or they'll die and docs and dieticians tell them the same and it does no good. IDK if the program was saying that people were getting more ill from not eating but if they were, how nice the food is has nothing to do with it. Horrid.

I am a former anorexic and stayed in inpatient treatment for 4 months. Eating disorder wards are probably one of the most depressing places you could ever stay

I don't actually work in a ED or psych ward. I work in an orthopaedic rehabilation ward for elderly patients.

Ohh you mean anorexic in the actually not hungry sense That must be so sad to see

Yes, or in the just dont want to eat for various reasons sense , not a distorted body image sense. It is sad.

 

[Kitty23]

I agree people are being ungrateful, the food isnt supposed to be amazing and if you don't want to pay higher taxes then just lump it! Personally when I was in hospital numrous times while pregnant the food wasnt bad at all and I had my own snacks with me xxx

 

[SKATERBUN]

I personally think plane food is better than the food I ate while I was in hospital,
I didnt eat it after the first day or so, I just ordered the pudding as they were partially edible. It wasnt the fact it wasnt 5* or owt just the fact it was cold, dried up, like eating a piece of cardboard, no flavour whatsover as everything was microwaved, fish and chips in the microwave lots of nutrients there I dont think that will speed anyones recovery I saw a lot of wastage as some patients could not eat what was put in front of them.
I also ate loads of breakfast which was just toast and cereal so I wouldnt be so hungry later on. I didnt have to do that. I could of got DH to bring me food in which I did eventually. But like Lou said its patients who have to stay in for months on end, poorer patients, the elderly, and people with no family.
I just think some hospitals maybe need to choose carefully who they hire as their contract caterers at the end of the day as the onus is on them to bring out something that is at least edible.

 

[marie73]

The food in our hospital isnt that bad. I wouldnt eat it out of choice but its not vile. IDK why some people think the NHS is a restaurant or hotel We aren't allowed to reheat patients food from home which kinda sucks.

& Not being funny but if I had a hideous wound or was very ill, I'd eat a scabby horse if I needed to.

Food needs to look appetising in order for people to want to eat it. Lots of people with chronic health problems, who often spend long periods of time in hospital, have poor appetites so need small frequent nutritious meals. Often people have no family to bring food into the hospital to them so are reliant on what they are given. I now work at a hospice and the food is freshly prepared on site and can be much more individualised.

I think a lot of the whole apetite thing is to do with patients being bored stiff but thats a whole other ballgame lol

My patients generally have a cancer diagnosis and their poor appetite is related to their illness not boredom. Cancer affects every part of your nutrition and how you metabolise food so ensuring good quality food is available is vitally important, even if it's only eaten in small amounts.

 

[highhopes19]

no i dont think patients are being ungratful at all !!

people pay for the NHS out of their taxes, so therefore should get the care they deserve!
i bet if i had to eat that slop they call food for 10 weeks then i would be moaning aswell!! its not even like its was served nice either just chucked on the plate, some of the food in their i wouldnt give to my dog!

people go in hospital to get better not to feel worse because of the crap they dish up!

when my dad was in hospital with cancer the food was apauling, he left with malnutrition lived on ensure suppliment drinks and crackers for nearly a month!

jheez next weeks episode we'll all be saying the people on their are being ungrateful for complaining about the end of life care they recieved

 

[Blah11]

I'm talking about more general patients tbh. Obviously there are diseases and conditions/treatments that affect the appetite and cancer and chemo is one of them.

Do you not think patients sitting on a chair or laying in bed all day and not using any energy or working up an appetite is a problem

 

[sequeena]

We had really good food in my hospital!

To be honest, if people don't like the food, there are shops within the hospital, or you could always order in a McDonalds

Do you realise how expensive that is? I couldn't afford it, I needed to eat and I did eat what I could, but it was awful and I feel so sorry for those who have no family to visit and bring food and are in hospital for months at a time.

If nobody complains nothing will change. I appreciate they don't have a big budget for food but they really do need to do something.

 

[Blah11]

no i dont think patients are being ungratful at all !!

people pay for the NHS out of their taxes, so therefore should get the care they deserve!
i bet if i had to eat that slop they call food for 10 weeks then i would be moaning aswell!! its not even like its was served nice either just chucked on the plate, some of the food in their i wouldnt give to my dog!

people go in hospital to get better not to feel worse because of the crap they dish up!

when my dad was in hospital with cancer the food was apauling, he left with malnutrition lived on ensure suppliment drinks and crackers for nearly a month!

jheez next weeks episode we'll all be saying the people on their are being ungrateful for complaining about the end of life care they recieved

IDK how it worked in the ward your dad was in but in mine its the nursing staff who dishes it up. We have 30 patients to dish out 3 courses to and we do it quickly so nurses can get breaks and start drug rounds asap We try and make it look as nice as we can but we're not going to make it look like restaurant food. Thats a waste of nursing time IMO.

 

[iceylou]

well here in ireland the food they give is terrible. its disgusting and inedible. my nephew was in hospital overnite last sept for tests for upcoming gastric sleeve surgery. what did they give him for his tea?? chips, chicken nuggets, sausages and beans. all of which was barely warm, chicken was rock hard but the most important thing was that they gave this to patient who is overweight!!! he didnt eat any of it as he hates all of that food.

i think they need to give healthy food not high salt unhealthy food. i was in hospital 5 yrs ago for kidney stones but went private, own room etc. the food was divine, all healthy, fruit veg salads etc but then i was paying for it. it shouldnt be like that though it should be all healthy etc for everyone.

the hospital my nephew was in is a private hospital, we went to the hospital cafe/restaurant. burgers, chips, saus, greasy food, a tiny bowl of salad and the price!!! omg i thought we were eating in a 5* restaurant. we had 2 small glasses of OJ, 2 slices of wholemeal bread and 1 slice of ham and i got a scone, total cost €15. when we asked for butter and 1 tiny tub of jam we were told "thats €2 extra"

 

[lemily]

This is a personal bug bear of mine....

I really don't think people are being picky. I think it is appalling that the food in hospitals is so bad. Yes, I agree you wouldn't expect a meal to be provided if you were in A&E and had to stay for 10 hours, or if you were admitted for a short stay of say 1-3 nights you might not mind if your sandwich was a bit stale, or the food arrived cold, or it wasn't very tasty.....

....however...there are people who must be in hospitals regularly whether they be young people with chronic conditions which need regular short hospital stays e.g. cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, renal failure with 4 times weekly dialysis etc, who can hopefully maintain adequate nutrition the rest of their time they are outside of hospital and hopefully are able bodied enough to feed themselves. And then there are those who are severely sick and/or elderly or suffering from a loss of mental faculties and are often in for very long stays where all of their daily nutrition for weeks at a time is provided by the meals they receive in hospital. Not only are these often woefully inadequate, but some people are not provided appropriate food e.g. soft foods for those with no teeth, or help to eat them. For people like this (and with an aging population, it is an ever increasing problem) these people are not being picky. Not at all. They deserve food which over a day, over a week, over a month, is nutritious (in line with their needs and dietary requirements e.g. any medical conditions), served fresh and warm, and are given help to consume the food if necessary.

I don't think hospitals should be providing 5* food but I do believe in many cases food should be seen as important as medicine as it is proven those who have good diets eat more, are happier and heal quicker and better which in turn would save the NHS a hell of a lot of money. By feeding patients as we are we are causing malnutrition and in some cases negligent care which contributes to death which spells firstly massive grief, and secondary, massive lawsuits which cripple the NHS further.

I do not think many people would complain about their care in hospitals in terms of medical assistance, but the food is shocking, and more shocking if you have to come to terms with the fact that many people do not have a choice to leave to find other sources of food and have no visitors to provide them with supplementary nutrition.

I think the NHS has a responsibility to provide palatable, simple food served to patients that are given a basic nutritional assessment as to their eating requirements (by which I mean whether they have teeth, can chew, have allergies or conditions such as Chrohns or coeliacs, not whether they like broccoli or not).

It is easy as a healthy person, with working legs, and a support network to see it as unnecessary, but this is not the majority of people who have to eat these meals. It shocks me, and something must be done.

 

[marie73]

I'm talking about more general patients tbh. Obviously there are diseases and conditions/treatments that affect the appetite and cancer and chemo is one of them.

Do you not think patients sitting on a chair or laying in bed all day and not using any energy or working up an appetite is a problem

I think it probably goes one way or another really - I've seen some people eat huge amounts of crap in hospital just because they're bored and it's something to do!! But you're right for others lack of activity leads to a poor appetite. I work in the community now so I'm used to seeing the stress of families when a loved one won't eat - I'm always trying to think up tempting suggestions for people to try!

 

[marie73]

no i dont think patients are being ungratful at all !!

people pay for the NHS out of their taxes, so therefore should get the care they deserve!
i bet if i had to eat that slop they call food for 10 weeks then i would be moaning aswell!! its not even like its was served nice either just chucked on the plate, some of the food in their i wouldnt give to my dog!

people go in hospital to get better not to feel worse because of the crap they dish up!

when my dad was in hospital with cancer the food was apauling, he left with malnutrition lived on ensure suppliment drinks and crackers for nearly a month!

jheez next weeks episode we'll all be saying the people on their are being ungrateful for complaining about the end of life care they recieved

Is that what next week's episode is about then?

 

[highhopes19]

no i dont think patients are being ungratful at all !!

people pay for the NHS out of their taxes, so therefore should get the care they deserve!
i bet if i had to eat that slop they call food for 10 weeks then i would be moaning aswell!! its not even like its was served nice either just chucked on the plate, some of the food in their i wouldnt give to my dog!

people go in hospital to get better not to feel worse because of the crap they dish up!

when my dad was in hospital with cancer the food was apauling, he left with malnutrition lived on ensure suppliment drinks and crackers for nearly a month!

jheez next weeks episode we'll all be saying the people on their are being ungrateful for complaining about the end of life care they recieved

IDK how it worked in the ward your dad was in but in mine its the nursing staff who dishes it up. We have 30 patients to dish out 3 courses to and we do it quickly so nurses can get breaks and start drug rounds asap We try and make it look as nice as we can but we're not going to make it look like restaurant food. Thats a waste of nursing time IMO.

i dont think the way its presented is the main problem, i just mean if somthing looks nice then patients are more likely to attempt to try it rather than it be chucked on the plate.
my mums a nurse , im training to be a midwife, so i know how stressfull it can be hun , i get stressed just at placement 4 times a week

i would go as far as saying in the ward my dad was in the food was much worse than what was shown on the programme