Dispatches - Hospital food .. ungrateful?

[Tasha]

I know a paediatric nurse who looks after really poorly children (think meningitis, leukaemia etc) and they are served up complete crap. They need the food in order to fight the illness, yet are not even getting their five a day.

My dad had a heart attack, and every meal served up was loaded with salt and sugar.

 

[aob1013]

It needs to be edible, tasty, and nutritious .. Of course I agree. We are humans at the end of the day, we all deserve that at least.

However, I don't think it should be at the top of the over stretched NHS's agenda right now. I would much rather the money go to helping more NICU units.

 

[marie73]

I dont think the programme is being portrayed in the right way. If you could see the importance of nutrition on the elderly medical wards i have worked on you would see just how important good meals are. Sometimes mealtimes are the only time of the day that the patient will smile, or come out of their shell. Anyone been institutionalised before? You should see how withdrawn and thin some patients get that are in-patients for months! I used to come home and feel so frustrated that I was not doing my job properly. I literally felt embarrassed! On Childrens wards, I would be serving up alphabet potato bites, and nuggets for terminally SICK children!! I did academic research on the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool that they use in hospitals and I completely ripped it apart. Its a useless tool, I could not care for my patients properly and expect them to heal when I was serving up such poor nutrition. Patients need highly nutritious meals to heal. It is so so simple, but the NHS are not getting it and i really think that it could SOLVE a hell of a lot of problems. i.e less staffing needs, because the wards are not full to capacity, more patients being discharged home , leading to more chance of rehabilitation. How can anyone think that good nutritious meals is not an important factor?

I think that our perspective as nurses, having seen the effects of poor nutrition, will always be different as we know the consequences. I'm glad that the journalist made the decision to reveal the situation in that hospital - he could quite easily have ignored the issue once he had sorted out his own situation. As he pointed out he was having good food once the catering manager was aware of his blog - what about all those patients who are unable to do that? The food at the last hospital I worked at improved when Loyd Grossman became involved in raising standards but not sure how things have changed.

 

[Chocciebutton]

When I was in hospital 6 years ago having my last son I had gestational diabetes that was diet controlled.....they had certain foods on the menu that were for diabetic patients for example diabetic jelly for desert but by the time the trolley came to my bed they always used to say 'oh the jelly is all gone!' ...there were other deserts loaded with sugar and the non diabetic patients were allowed to choose the diabetic deserts if they so wished!!! kind of defeats the object!

 

[EternalRose]

But I would go as far as saying a lot of the sickness in hospitals have been exacerbated due to the poor meals. I cant comment on the NICU, as I dont believe that one area of the hospital is more deserving than another. Ive seen patients go home.(and tbh they shouldnt really be going home because they look worse than what they did when they came in! ) Malnourished. Give it a few months - the elderly dont usually like to put the heater on, and they are back on the ward in an even worser condition, on top of the one they are already recovering from! Its a vicious circle and a great proportion of it is down to nutrition. I just used to tell myself, that this could be my dad lying in this bed. Anyway, I wont keep going on. I am just very passionate about this sort of thing..

 

[EternalRose]

I think that our perspective as nurses, having seen the effects of poor nutrition, will always be different as we know the consequences. I'm glad that the journalist made the decision to reveal the situation in that hospital - he could quite easily have ignored the issue once he had sorted out his own situation. As he pointed out he was having good food once the catering manager was aware of his blog - what about all those patients who are unable to do that? The food at the last hospital I worked at improved when Loyd Grossman became involved in raising standards but not sure how things have changed.

This is exactly what i was thinking!

 

[pinkbow]

^^ exactly. My gran has been in since before Xmas and the food is awful, theres always something going about, i can barely visit as if its not sickness its mrsa!!!

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

You see the childrens wards that I have seen so far havechad some really nutrional meals. Why does it differ from hospital to hospital? X

 

[Charlotteee]

I remember being in hospital and starving for 3 days because the food was really unpleasant.

At the end of the day i pay Tax and National Insurance (which is for things like hospitals). My national insurance is approx £600 a year, and for the amount of times i use the hospital £600 a year better get me a bloody 3 course slap up meal.

Whats the point in paying £600 a year for something i hardly use, (i still pay for my prescriptions so NI is pointless again) and get shit treatment and meals when i'm in there

x

 

[Tasha]

But I would go as far as saying a lot of the sickness in hospitals have been exarcabated due to the poor meals. I cant comment on the NICU, as I dont think one area of the hospital is more deserving than another. Ive seen patients go home.(and tbh they shouldnt really be going home because they look worse than what they did when they came in! ) Malnourished. Give it a few months - the elderly dont usually like to put the heater on, and they are back on the ward in an even worser condition, on top of the one they are already recovering from! Its a vicious circle and a great proportion of it is down to nutrition. I just used to tell myself, that this could be my dad lying in this bed. Anyway, I wont keep going on. I am just very passionate about this sort of thing..

it must of been so hard to watch.

My aunt was dying in June/July last year and so I spent a lot of time on the ward watching older people, and in the few weeks she was there you could see certain people getting more ill, and I too was pretty sure it was cos they werent eating.

Time is a factor too, quite often the meals would be brought round and twenty minutes later taken again. It just wasnt enough time for some of them to eat. One day we got there and some one was having a go at my aunt, who couldnt use her hands any more cos she hadnt eaten, but no one had fed her. Guess it is what happens when hospitals are over stretched, no time to feed people, and needing to get on with other stuff means having to collect meals quite quickly.

 

[EternalRose]

You see the childrens wards that I have seen so far havechad some really nutrional meals. Why does it differ from hospital to hospital? X

Im glad there are differences at your hospital hun. I think someone mentioned before on here, it could be just a postcode lottery. Different trusts, different budget.

 

[Tasha]

You see the childrens wards that I have seen so far havechad some really nutrional meals. Why does it differ from hospital to hospital? X

Because it is contracted out now, isnt it?

 

[Tasha]

I remember being in hospital and starving for 3 days because the food was really unpleasant.

At the end of the day i pay Tax and National Insurance (which is for things like hospitals). My national insurance is approx £600 a year, and for the amount of times i use the hospital £600 a year better get me a bloody 3 course slap up meal.

Whats the point in paying £600 a year for something i hardly use, (i still pay for my prescriptions so NI is pointless again) and get shit treatment and meals when i'm in there

x

But your NI doesnt just pay for NHS does it? I have no clue btw, just asking

 

[marie73]

To be honest it's seeing the wider picture. Nutrition is not that important in the maternity unit - most people are well nourished on admission and they have a short stay. Even if you're breast feeding your nutritional needs are likely to be met - my family bought food in for me to supplement what I was being given and I'm sure that's the case with most people. On elderly care, renal, oncology etc. the situation is completely different and the experience of the people on here who have seen loved ones affected by cancer etc. highlights this issue. Nutrition has every right to be at the top of the NHS's stretched budget imo just as much as funding NICU beds.

 

[aob1013]

I don't think any section is more deserving either.

I cba to go deep deep deep deep into this, it was just a quick thought going through my head that it seemed a tad ungrateful for people to be moaning about the standard of hospital food.

I do think it should be a certain standard of course I do. My Grandad fell and broke his neck on a bus a few years ago and spent 3 months in hospital before he died and his food wasn't all that great but he was just thankful for being treated for his injuries. Food should always be edible, but not something I think the nhs should be making a hoo har out of.

 

[Charlotteee]

I remember being in hospital and starving for 3 days because the food was really unpleasant.

At the end of the day i pay Tax and National Insurance (which is for things like hospitals). My national insurance is approx £600 a year, and for the amount of times i use the hospital £600 a year better get me a bloody 3 course slap up meal.

Whats the point in paying £600 a year for something i hardly use, (i still pay for my prescriptions so NI is pointless again) and get shit treatment and meals when i'm in there

x

But your NI doesnt just pay for NHS does it? I have no clue btw, just asking

The system has changed over the years.

National Insurance is now used to pay for:

* The NHS
* Unemployment benefit
* Sickness and disability allowances
* The state pension

NI is supposed to be "ring fenced" - meaning the money raised is only used for these areas and won't be spent on things like building schools or employing police officers.

However, the government can borrow from the National Insurance fund to help pay for other projects

xxx

 

[Tasha]

I remember being in hospital and starving for 3 days because the food was really unpleasant.

At the end of the day i pay Tax and National Insurance (which is for things like hospitals). My national insurance is approx £600 a year, and for the amount of times i use the hospital £600 a year better get me a bloody 3 course slap up meal.

Whats the point in paying £600 a year for something i hardly use, (i still pay for my prescriptions so NI is pointless again) and get shit treatment and meals when i'm in there

x

But your NI doesnt just pay for NHS does it? I have no clue btw, just asking

The system has changed over the years.

National Insurance is now used to pay for:

* The NHS
* Unemployment benefit
* Sickness and disability allowances
* The state pension

NI is supposed to be "ring fenced" - meaning the money raised is only used for these areas and won't be spent on things like building schools or employing police officers.

However, the government can borrow from the National Insurance fund to help pay for other projects

xxx

Thank you for that. I had no idea.

Have to say though, the nurse I know said it costs something like £800 or £1000 a night for a bed in a hospital (or on their ward, cant remember which), so £600 for three nights is a bargain. Plus any other times you have been to the doctors, or when you have a baby. The dentist will be covered too, maybe (cos it is all subsidised).

 

[EternalRose]

But I would go as far as saying a lot of the sickness in hospitals have been exarcabated due to the poor meals. I cant comment on the NICU, as I dont think one area of the hospital is more deserving than another. Ive seen patients go home.(and tbh they shouldnt really be going home because they look worse than what they did when they came in! ) Malnourished. Give it a few months - the elderly dont usually like to put the heater on, and they are back on the ward in an even worser condition, on top of the one they are already recovering from! Its a vicious circle and a great proportion of it is down to nutrition. I just used to tell myself, that this could be my dad lying in this bed. Anyway, I wont keep going on. I am just very passionate about this sort of thing..

it must of been so hard to watch.

My aunt was dying in June/July last year and so I spent a lot of time on the ward watching older people, and in the few weeks she was there you could see certain people getting more ill, and I too was pretty sure it was cos they werent eating.

Time is a factor too, quite often the meals would be brought round and twenty minutes later taken again. It just wasnt enough time for some of them to eat. One day we got there and some one was having a go at my aunt, who couldnt use her hands any more cos she hadnt eaten, but no one had fed her. Guess it is what happens when hospitals are over stretched, no time to feed people, and needing to get on with other stuff means having to collect meals quite quickly.

So sorry about how your nan was treated. Did you complain?

Yeah, i think this is where I will question the taxes we pay when our elderly citizens cant even be fed their dinner after working in this country all their life. Seems like a bit of a raw deal to me. I dont mean, quickly either. Actual someone taking the time to feed with care and properly. The NHS pay over the odds for agency staff, when they could invest it in more staff nurses that actually want to be there for the shift but thats another thread. Either way cutting corners clearly isnt working.

 

[marie73]

I don't think any section is more deserving either.

I cba to go deep deep deep deep into this, it was just a quick thought going through my head that it seemed a tad ungrateful for people to be moaning about the standard of hospital food.

I do think it should be a certain standard of course I do. My Grandad fell and broke his neck on a bus a few years ago and spent 3 months in hospital before he died and his food wasn't all that great but he was just thankful for being treated for his injuries. Food should always be edible, but not something I think the nhs should be making a hoo har out of.

I think you've missed the point that Eternal Rose and I are trying to make. Nutrition is a big deal for many patients and malnutrition costs the NHS huge amounts of money in extended hospital stays, additional costs etc. If nutrition was improved for all patients, including staff being available to feed patients etc., there would be more money available for all the other important areas of NHS spending. I think we've both seen the results of malnutrition and it's difficult to forget.

 

[Charlotteee]

I remember being in hospital and starving for 3 days because the food was really unpleasant.

At the end of the day i pay Tax and National Insurance (which is for things like hospitals). My national insurance is approx £600 a year, and for the amount of times i use the hospital £600 a year better get me a bloody 3 course slap up meal.

Whats the point in paying £600 a year for something i hardly use, (i still pay for my prescriptions so NI is pointless again) and get shit treatment and meals when i'm in there

x

But your NI doesnt just pay for NHS does it? I have no clue btw, just asking

The system has changed over the years.

National Insurance is now used to pay for:

* The NHS
* Unemployment benefit
* Sickness and disability allowances
* The state pension

NI is supposed to be "ring fenced" - meaning the money raised is only used for these areas and won't be spent on things like building schools or employing police officers.

However, the government can borrow from the National Insurance fund to help pay for other projects

xxx

Thank you for that. I had no idea.

Have to say though, the nurse I know said it costs something like £800 or £1000 a night for a bed in a hospital (or on their ward, cant remember which), so £600 for three nights is a bargain. Plus any other times you have been to the doctors, or when you have a baby. The dentist will be covered too, maybe (cos it is all subsidised).

I have to pay £30 for a check-up and whatever else work needs doing on my teeth, eye-checks are paid for. Errrm all my prescriptions. I have to go and pick up four items tomorrow and it will cost me £30.

But if you also think of how many times an average person is in hospital and how much NI you pay in a life time, it is quite a lot. I know someone who is 35 and has only been in hospital once (when she was born)

xxx