A new report shows the UK has no nationwide standard for the quality of hospital meals. Because of this, some English patients have to put up with meals that aren’t good for them and don’t taste good either.
Local authorities get to decide how much is spent on these meals, which leaves some hospitals with a budget of as little as 3 pounds per day.
Written by the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, the report found that as many as 82,000 uneaten meals were thrown away each day, probably because, as it also found, the majority of hospital staff said they wouldn’t eat them either. And there’s no assurance these meals even meet minimum nutritional standards, much less provide optimal nutrition for healing.
The report also shows that allowing hospitals to take the initiative to improve meal quality hasn’t really worked out. Only a handful have so far introduced standards for better meals. As they are, says the Campaign, they’re not as good as those served in prison.
Sign this petition to insist the UK‘s National Health Service step in and set heathier standards for hospital meals.
We, the undersigned, say the Campaign for Better Hospital Food’s report reveals issues that must be corrected.
It found, most disturbingly, that limits on salt, sugar and saturated fat, adopted by the Scottish and Welsh governments were not imposed on hospital meals, even though a couple of years ago Westminster set minimum nutritional and environmental standards for food served in prisons and part of the armed forces and certain government offices.
Again, these are just minimal standards. Not even considered, at best, are good fats vs. unhealthy trans fats or natural sugars vs. harmful corn syrup. So even if hospital meals are brought up to minimal standards, they still have a long way to go in providing optimal nutrition for those who probably need it the most.
As always, what it all comes down to is money. But because hospital food is an “integral part of recovery,” as one patient advocate notes, it’s the last place governments should allow budget cuts to affect quality.
Although a spokesperson for the Department of Health admitted that there was “too much variation” in standards nationwide, it wants to steer away from government intervention to fix the problem. But that approach doesn’t seem to be working so far.
We request that the National Health Service intervene and set better standards for hospital meals.
