Hospital food!

[Sparks_]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21531545

 

Too true it can be awful, I spent almost a week, recently, in my local hospital for surgery, breakfasts was porridge or cereal and bread and jam no toast allowed! Oh could have an under ripened banana and some long life orange juice, no protein or healthy food provided! Not even wholemeal bread at times! Main meal at lunch time, very small, less than a hundred grams of protein, yes i can estimate that Evening meal was soup and a sandwich and a snack sized pack of biscuits for your supper. One evening the sandwich was chicken....3 tiny pieces of it!

 

I know there is very little money put for hospital food but this is not acceptable, no wonder old people with no support network lose weight in hospital!

[Nystagmite]

I remember when I was in hospital in 2000, m parents nipped to KFC to get me some food...

 

When I was in hospital in 2004, I remember that the portions were tiny. No good for someone who hadn't eaten anything for a good 24 hours.

[assisted blonde]

you can choose your meal and portion size in most hospitals, and to be fair if you are ill you are not using aso much energy so you dont need as much food, having said that most of its very bland and uninteresting and there is a problem with people who dont have anyone to bring them in anything else

[Marianne7]

Hospital food generally isn't the kind of food that I like, but when I was last in hospital in 2009 I couldn't/wasn't allowed to eat real food for 12 days (won't go into why here). When I came off all drips I was so weak that I knew I just needed to eat to build up my strength, so although normally a vegetarian, I ordered meat dishes, sausages and mash, chicken pies, fish pies + a pudding. There was always a soup for starters, too. Something told me this would be the quickest way to get protein into me. And you know, the food wasn't that bad at all. Yes, plastic bread for breakfast, rather boring, and the tea and coffee were pretty awful, but I found the meals fairly tasty. I regreted having to stop being veggie for a while, but made a conscious decision that it was the right thing to do at the time.

 

Maybe it was because ANY solids would have tasted good, after not eating for so long? I thought the meals were designed by dietitians and cooks working together, to make sure they contained the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats that we need? Or doesn't this happen any more?

 

Fortunately most people don't have to be in hospital for very long now.

[Sparks_]

There wasnt anything on the menu to chose size of portion when I was in last month, neither was there anything for those who needed a higher protean intake, plenty for those on renal diets, low salt, low call and soft diet, looks like I am just complaining for complaining sake but if I dont have a fairly high protein diet my hands and feet start swelling up to the point of i can not bend my fingers Plus as i have an ileostomy I need higher intake of salt and potassium or I start feeling rather unwell

[Old Cogger]

i was hungry during my stay 5 years ago, lucky it was only 4 days, but the lady there had some kit kats in the cupboard and gave a couple when she was on duty.

[Night Owl]

I read this story on the BBC too - appalling waste of money.

I don't think the Celebrity Chefs were the right people to get involved with changing things.

Something has to change fast or sick and vulnerable patients in Hospital will suffer from malnutrition.

[Charlotte_Henderson]

I remember when I was in hospital in 2000, m parents nipped to KFC to get me some food...

 

When I was in hospital in 2004, I remember that the portions were tiny. No good for someone who hadn't eaten anything for a good 24 hours.

 

When i was in hospital for 2 weeks back in 2011 i lost a stone in weight as the food was that bad

The first hospital i was in the food was ok, apart the tiny portions but the 2nd one i was transferred to was dreadful. i wouldn't feed my cat any of it.

[hine moa]

I would starve in my local hospital, they have no idea what celiacs can eat and the menu's don't provide options for them every day. On the odd occasion Gluten Free shows up on the menu they are foodstuffs that are obviously not suitable!

When in a larger hospital nearly two years ago after having my son, I had to exist on baked potato with butter everyday, for lunch and evening meal. Even the pre grated cheese they buy in was packaged with flour to stop the grated cheese sticking together. You can't even depend on the salad as one day it will come un-dressed (fine) and another it will be dressed (not fine)!

Not a good balanced diet to be on whilst recovering from what ended up as major surgery and whilst also trying to get a baby established on breast feeding.

[Feebee_71]

I once had to manage with only ham sandwiches for 5 days in hospital as the ward would not arrange for a dietician to come and see me to authorise a fairy free diet for me because I was 'young enough and could manage by choosing cheese free items from the menu - no thought for the butter, milk or yoghurt in sauces or even mashed potato. Them they moaned that I wouldn't get better if I didn't eat a bit more and suggested I had some porridge for breakfast each day - sheer lunacy!!