East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust defend quality of hospital food (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Surely the food must be healthier that walking around Burnley town centre with a sausage roll from Gregg's?
Or worst still, one of them takeaways, from the dirty shops on St.James St. or Colne Road?

Anyone who's stayed in a Blackburn Royal will tell the truth....1 week stay for me and the food was awful,
1st day - breakfast, 1 child portion of porridge that tasted like s**t (an i like porridge :))
1 slice of wholemeal bread, 1 satchet of butter & 1 satchet of strawberry jam, i asked the nurse why the bread wasn't toasted?" she replied "we arn't allowed toasters no more due to stupid h&s reasons" to which i said "so it's a jam butty? she smiled :)

Having recently spent some time in the royal Blackburn as an inpatient, I have to disagree with the patient satisfaction rate regarding the food. I will say some of the food was excellent, the big problem comes if you want hot porridge for breakfast, this seemed to be beyond the capabilities of the catering department, despite speaking to the catering manager. the problem was not resolved. some nurses would warm it in the microwave and others were told not to as this is against infection control. however I am grateful to the overworked nurses who seemed to be in short supply, when you observe the hours they work and many don't even have time for a break in a 12 hour shift, makes you appreciate the dedication they have, and they pay to park their car at work as well. My little dig at the porridge was tongue in cheek but there are serious staff shortages at the hospital, the cost cutting has gone way to far. i can reveal situations which would strike fear into anyone taking a fair look at the hospital. although i owe them a debt of gratitude which i could never repay it hurts to see an NHS hospital reduced to the level of the RBI.
If ever there was an issue to unite the people of this nation the NHS is it.
The privatisation of the NHS is gathering pace and may be irreversable before the next election.
when you visit an NHS hospital as a visitor, just take note of the staffing levels, i will say thanks to the NHS for the life saving treatment i had from accrington, blackburn, preston, and pendle. and still some more to go.

Look, let's get this straight, from the outset.
Hospitals are for sick people, really.
If you don't like the food, get off your deathbed and leave OR ask for a peg, where they insert a tube into your stomach and feed you some aweful looking gruel.
The food is cooked by illegal immigrants, whose standards of hygiene include, spitting into a frying pan, to ensure the oil is hot enough.
The steamed vegatables were cooked for not less than 2 hours, as the 'Chef' demands his whites be properly boiled.
Any meats served, were passed as 'not fit for human consumption', in an abattoir somewhere in the non-EU.

Think this, if the bug, MRSA is rampant in the wards, what must the kitchens be like?
Would you send your, well minted, aged Mother, to a place like this?

I did, 3 times!
She survived, and is spending my inheritance, with a vigour never seen before, in a person accostomed to parsimony.

woolywords wrote:
Look, let's get this straight, from the outset.
Hospitals are for sick people, really.
If you don't like the food, get off your deathbed and leave OR ask for a peg, where they insert a tube into your stomach and feed you some aweful looking gruel.
The food is cooked by illegal immigrants, whose standards of hygiene include, spitting into a frying pan, to ensure the oil is hot enough.
The steamed vegatables were cooked for not less than 2 hours, as the 'Chef' demands his whites be properly boiled.
Any meats served, were passed as 'not fit for human consumption', in an abattoir somewhere in the non-EU.

Think this, if the bug, MRSA is rampant in the wards, what must the kitchens be like?
Would you send your, well minted, aged Mother, to a place like this?

I did, 3 times!
She survived, and is spending my inheritance, with a vigour never seen before, in a person accostomed to parsimony.

If someone hadn't sneaked food in for her, you'd be minted now!

Over the past forty years I have been involved in every type of catering from cafes to 5 star hotels, and believe me Hospital catering is the most difficult. WHY? well for a start you are dealing with sick people. People whose appetites and taste buds are affected by their illnesses, operations, moods and even their environment etc. Meals have to be ordered a day or so in advance. This means that while you might fancy a particular dish when you order, by the time you get it, your meds might have kicked in, or tests you have had could have spoiled your appetite and all you want is perhaps a bowl of soup. Also the food must be cooked/prepared well before the meal times so that they can get to the wards on time. Often the distance between the kitchen and the ward is considerable this is why they are served in insulated containers.
Patients come and go so it is often necessary for a day or so for a newly arrived patient to be served with a meal ordered two days earlier by a patient who has been discharged.
Over the past couple of years I spent several months in hospital, and yes there are some improvements that could be made. For example, a knife could be served with an apple. Why, Because not everyone, particularly elderly people can bite into one. Also, thanks to the dieticians sticking their nose in, salt is considered bad for you and has been replaced by spices and herbs. Not everyone, me included likes or can eat spicy/herby food.
So lets give the caterers in hospitals a bit of sympathy. They have a difficult job to do and while there might be some areas that could be improved, it still comes down to the fact that when you are in hospital, you are there because you are not well.

Izanears wrote:
Over the past forty years I have been involved in every type of catering from cafes to 5 star hotels, and believe me Hospital catering is the most difficult. WHY? well for a start you are dealing with sick people. People whose appetites and taste buds are affected by their illnesses, operations, moods and even their environment etc. Meals have to be ordered a day or so in advance. This means that while you might fancy a particular dish when you order, by the time you get it, your meds might have kicked in, or tests you have had could have spoiled your appetite and all you want is perhaps a bowl of soup. Also the food must be cooked/prepared well before the meal times so that they can get to the wards on time. Often the distance between the kitchen and the ward is considerable this is why they are served in insulated containers.
Patients come and go so it is often necessary for a day or so for a newly arrived patient to be served with a meal ordered two days earlier by a patient who has been discharged.
Over the past couple of years I spent several months in hospital, and yes there are some improvements that could be made. For example, a knife could be served with an apple. Why, Because not everyone, particularly elderly people can bite into one. Also, thanks to the dieticians sticking their nose in, salt is considered bad for you and has been replaced by spices and herbs. Not everyone, me included likes or can eat spicy/herby food.
So lets give the caterers in hospitals a bit of sympathy. They have a difficult job to do and while there might be some areas that could be improved, it still comes down to the fact that when you are in hospital, you are there because you are not well.

perhaps you could explain why the problem only seemed to be at breakfast time, lunches and teas were always hot, yet porridge not.
in hospitals run by other trusts toast was available. and the menu were very varied. so why different rules or is it cutbacks? I get no pleasure from complaining about a system i have contributed to and believed in all my life.

Izanears wrote:
Over the past forty years I have been involved in every type of catering from cafes to 5 star hotels, and believe me Hospital catering is the most difficult. WHY? well for a start you are dealing with sick people. People whose appetites and taste buds are affected by their illnesses, operations, moods and even their environment etc. Meals have to be ordered a day or so in advance. This means that while you might fancy a particular dish when you order, by the time you get it, your meds might have kicked in, or tests you have had could have spoiled your appetite and all you want is perhaps a bowl of soup. Also the food must be cooked/prepared well before the meal times so that they can get to the wards on time. Often the distance between the kitchen and the ward is considerable this is why they are served in insulated containers.
Patients come and go so it is often necessary for a day or so for a newly arrived patient to be served with a meal ordered two days earlier by a patient who has been discharged.
Over the past couple of years I spent several months in hospital, and yes there are some improvements that could be made. For example, a knife could be served with an apple. Why, Because not everyone, particularly elderly people can bite into one. Also, thanks to the dieticians sticking their nose in, salt is considered bad for you and has been replaced by spices and herbs. Not everyone, me included likes or can eat spicy/herby food.
So lets give the caterers in hospitals a bit of sympathy. They have a difficult job to do and while there might be some areas that could be improved, it still comes down to the fact that when you are in hospital, you are there because you are not well.

perhaps you could explain why the problem only seemed to be at breakfast time, lunches and teas were always hot, yet porridge not.
in hospitals run by other trusts toast was available. and the menu were very varied. so why different rules or is it cutbacks? I get no pleasure from complaining about a system i have contributed to and believed in all my life.

It's a hospital for goodness sakes, when I was in there I was thankful for anything.

If you want something nice to eat I can recommend many places around the local area.

Honestly, if it was up to me I'd say spend even less on the food and hire more nurses!

Or... you could always ask a visitor to bring you a KFC!

mavrick wrote:

Izanears wrote:
Over the past forty years I have been involved in every type of catering from cafes to 5 star hotels, and believe me Hospital catering is the most difficult. WHY? well for a start you are dealing with sick people. People whose appetites and taste buds are affected by their illnesses, operations, moods and even their environment etc. Meals have to be ordered a day or so in advance. This means that while you might fancy a particular dish when you order, by the time you get it, your meds might have kicked in, or tests you have had could have spoiled your appetite and all you want is perhaps a bowl of soup. Also the food must be cooked/prepared well before the meal times so that they can get to the wards on time. Often the distance between the kitchen and the ward is considerable this is why they are served in insulated containers.
Patients come and go so it is often necessary for a day or so for a newly arrived patient to be served with a meal ordered two days earlier by a patient who has been discharged.
Over the past couple of years I spent several months in hospital, and yes there are some improvements that could be made. For example, a knife could be served with an apple. Why, Because not everyone, particularly elderly people can bite into one. Also, thanks to the dieticians sticking their nose in, salt is considered bad for you and has been replaced by spices and herbs. Not everyone, me included likes or can eat spicy/herby food.
So lets give the caterers in hospitals a bit of sympathy. They have a difficult job to do and while there might be some areas that could be improved, it still comes down to the fact that when you are in hospital, you are there because you are not well.

perhaps you could explain why the problem only seemed to be at breakfast time, lunches and teas were always hot, yet porridge not.
in hospitals run by other trusts toast was available. and the menu were very varied. so why different rules or is it cutbacks? I get no pleasure from complaining about a system i have contributed to and believed in all my life.

Hi mavrick.
Hospital Trusts work to different systems and menu plans, so perhaps this explains why they all do not serve toast. Perhaps you could write to the Trusts CHIEF EXECUTIVE and suggest they serve it. As for the porridge being cold, when I was in hospital, in the periods I was not NIL BY MOUTH, I always had porridge for breakfast and never found it to be cold. Having said that, porridge can lose heat very quickly once it put in the dish.

As I said the cold porridge was just an irritant in comparison to the seriously ill people being treated.
As Tugay suggests you get visitors to bring in KFC shows how ignorant of the system he and many others are. this is a PFI hospital who try to extract every penny from the patient or relatives. we have paid our dues and fought for health care for everybody. I will warn people to be aware of the phrase the tories use, The NHS will always be free at the point of need. however once in hospital they fully intend to charge for everything else.