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Food allergies

Posted By Foxtrot19

"Food allergies"

About: Maternity care / Ward 45 ( antenatal) Maternity care / Ward 46 (post-natal)

(as the patient),

I spent 11 days in the hospital, I was supposed to be given an arm band and a sign on the wall of my allergies, it took 2 days for the arm band (and a lot of asking) and I never got the sign on the wall. I'm anaphylaxis to egg & nuts. I must have been offered scrambled egg near enough EVERY day. I had to remind them of my allergies every single day, a few good ones remembered. But one in particular clearly did not care or understand to which her reply when I asked if she could check ingredients was that I can just look at the plate and tell if there was any eggs in it. No regard for allergens being in the sauce or how it is prepared with shared utensils etc.

The next day the same girl offered me egg AGAIN. Not only that but when declining food that usually would contain my allergens (forgive me for having trust issues from the same people who have been offering me egg everyday after telling them multiple times) I asked if my partner could bring me food and I could get it heat up in the microwave to which they told me no I wasn't allowed to do that, so I could either eat the food or starve basically. This was the same day I had given birth.

Honestly I've never felt so dehumanised. I hate having allergies and I never asked for this but I'm so upset at how I was treated. I was expecting some sort of procedures in place to protect those with food allergies but they clearly were not. I shouldn't have to remind the staff every time I ordered food surely on their list my name should have been marked so staff were aware when ordering surely that's not too much to ask. How scary that I didn't even feel safe in a hospital. Had better treatment in restaurants.

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Responses

Response from Joanne Daly, Support Service Manager Altnagelvin Hospital, Performance and Service Improvement, Western Health & Social Care Trust 8 months ago
Joanne Daly
Support Service Manager Altnagelvin Hospital, Performance and Service Improvement,
Western Health & Social Care Trust

Submitted on 07/10/2024 at 13:06
Published on Care Opinion at 13:06

Hi Foxtrot19

I hope you and Baby are both doing well.

My name is Joanne Daly Support Services Manager responsible for Catering. I'm very sorry that this was your experience. Can I advise that it is a Nursing Role to ensure that if a patient has any allergies or specific dietary requirement to inform the Catering Team. The Trust uses an electronic ordering system where all items on the menu including allergens are listed so this can be discussed by the nursing staff with patient when they are taking an order and in turn be provided by the Catering Team. The Catering team can also be contacted by ward or nurse to ask for a specific patient requirement that may not be on that day or the next days menu.

Yours Joanne Daly

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Update posted by Foxtrot19 (the patient)

The nurses had been informed, I had an allergy bracelet on. I told the catering team every single day therefore I feel your response is incredibly unhelpful, I don't understand what more I could have did. One example was a member of the support services team who took my order, after giving me the dinner options (which were never mentioned as allergen friendly despite being repeatedly told of my allergens), I asked them to check a dish for me to ensure it was safe. Their response were to just order the food and visually check if it looked safe. When I then asked if they could check with the cooks/allergen list, they were hesitant to do so as if this was too much trouble??

This experience was nothing to do with the nurses and I feel like it's a game if pass the buck. Plain and simple I repeatedly mentioned my allergens day in and day out and was still offered said allergens everyday. And when I didnt feel safe and asked to just heat up my own food with a microwave I was denied. If my partner wasn't there to bring me food some days it seems I would have went without food (mainly due to fear) for long periods of time just after giving birth.

Do better for those who are born with food allergies. I did not choose this burden, everyday I could die due to avoidable negligence and to me your response just shows how little you care. When it's mentioned over and over again to your staff surely one should of had the gumption to mark it somewhere for the next rounds? Or the staff member who had no idea that you can't visually inspect for allergens?? Come on. It felt like either take the risk or starve.

Thanks but your reply did nothing to fill me with confidence for the next time I'm in the hospital. In my opinion surely a better system needs to be in place or at the vary least some training.

Response from Ashley Smyth, Sister Post Natal Ward 46, Maternity services Woman & Children, WHSCT 8 months ago
Ashley Smyth
Sister Post Natal Ward 46, Maternity services Woman & Children,
WHSCT

Submitted on 08/10/2024 at 13:20
Published on Care Opinion at 13:20

Hi Foxtrot19

I wish to firstly congratulate you on your baby and wish to address some of your concerns regarding your food allergies and menu choices available.

Important information regarding allergies and previous anaphylactic agents is vital and included on our midwifery handover which is shared between staff changing shifts to raise awareness of this aspect of care provision. I am sure it was indeed stressful and worrying for you as you felt unsafe regarding your choice of meal and the environment in which this was prepared.

Midwifery staff utilise the mealtime matters approach and safety pause, which permits time to consider the nutritional needs, feeding assistance or food allergies of any mums on the Post Natal ward before all meals are served. The trust has implemented the Mealtimes matter initiative in recent years which focuses staff to consider fully patient choices and improved communication when patients have allergies or intolerances or special dietary requirements. This care standard is audited throughout the trust by the Nursing team using the Mealtimes Matter Audit tool.

We have a supply of bright coloured Food allergy posters which should have been displayed on the door of your room if in a side room or on the wall around your bed space if in a 4 bedded area. I apologise that this was never assigned to your rest area, as we have an abundant supply of resources available to staff to use to alert staff to your individual requirements and to ensure your safety. We are all concerned with improving the care experience for our mums and babies and I have enquired if the provision of a microwave for patient use is something we could consider as the heating of food has been considered unsafe in hospital in past times and also for partners bringing food in to hospital wards and departments due to risk of food poisoning, or indeed possible contaminants from allergic products such as nuts or eggs for other patients perhaps sharing he same ward environment. I fear this is a definate no as it would be impossible to ensure any equipment would be free from allergens if previously used by another patient.

I have discussed your care opinion with the team and we are currently implementing a new meal choices form which has a clear section identifying any allergies to improve communication between the staff requesting your meal choice and the kitchen assistants who work throughout our department. Can you comment if the Allergy arm band was in place on your admission to FAU/ Ward 45 or on Ward 46 as this is useful for the entire team to reflect on.

I am available to discuss any aspect of your care further and welcome your feedback as it challenges us to think about our processes and make required changes for improved care.

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