NHD Editor, Emma Coates, in her new Up Front column, reflects on the latest government review on hospital food and asks, “Why Prue?. . .
October sees the return of shorter days and chillier nights, but we are nearing the culinary treat that is the final of The Great British Bake Off (GBBO), which hopefully won’t result in any exploding ovens, or showstopper disasters! “Millions wasted on ‘unpalatable’ hospital food”, is not something you’ll hear on The GBBO, but this was a recent comment made by celebrity chef and Bake Off judge, Prue Leith, as the government announced the launch of its latest hospital food review. The standard of food in our hospitals is a hot potato, which has been reviewed, discussed and often criticised for many years. Yet, little seems to have improved. With any large-scale production of food, it’s a challenge to meet the diverse needs of many recipients and within budget. However, when it comes to hospital food, there really isn’t much room to manoeuvre, as the diversity of needs must be met and it’s unacceptable to provide poor quality food to some of the most vulnerable in our society. Prue has been taken on as advisor to the government regarding this review. She is not the first celebrity chef to get on board with such schemes. Albert Roux, Lloyd Grossman and James Martin are all previous famous chefs who’ve taken a run at this mammoth task, and don’t forget Jamie Oliver’s intervention. So, why will this review be any different? Well, the government has pledged to look into the positive impact of good quality food on aiding faster recovery, which will be supported by referring to case studies from across the
UP FRONT Emma Coates Editor
country. It will also consider the potential use of new systems to monitor food safety and quality, which includes more transparent methods for regular review and looking at how NHS boards are held to account. Additional aspects of the review also include how to increase the number of hospitals with their own chefs and kitchens. The government is seeking support from national bodies and they will work together to potentially reduce reliance on repacked or frozen options, with the aim to source food and services locally. Eventually, the aim is to ensure that the 140 million meals served to patients across the country every year, are healthier, tastier and patient choice is greater, along with new national quality standards for the food served to staff, patients and visitors. But why choose Prue? Whilst she is a well-established celebrity chef and television judge, is she really the right choice for this job? Former Chair of the School Food Trust and restaurateur with a CBE, Prue has previously spoken out on the need for hospitals to provide healthy, nourishing and filling options to aid recovery and for meals to be tailored to the individual needs of the patient. But, only time will tell. Whether this latest review of hospital food will result in positive changes remains to be seen, but we can wait with optimism that this time it might be different. Enjoy all the nourishment this issue of NHD has to offer. Emma
Emma has been a Registered Dietitian for 12 years, with experience of adult and paediatric dietetics.
www.NHDmag.com October 2019 - Issue 148
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