"A hospital diet to be largely uneventful..."

What I liked

I am writing on behalf of my elderly mother who was an inpatient in Feb 2011. The kindness and attention by the nurses appeared excellent. I realise changes in shifts and handovers can cause logistical problems but everything at this hospital appeared to be smooth as records appeared to be kept accurate by nursing staff. My mother was even ably helped to opearte the TV, which kept her occupied and happy during her stay.

What could be improved

The menu and availability as to its content specifically for 'gluten-free' diets (coeliac). I am writing on behalf of my elderly mother who was an inpatient in Feb 2011. Before I continue with my comments, I wish to emphasise that the catering contractor was newly appointed to the above hospital and allowances should be made in the early days of operation if the 'shoes squeak a little'.. On numerous occasions my mother ordered a hot meal or a selection only to be told that it was not available that day and that due to her diet she could only have a salad - i.e. cold food. There appeared during her stay a lack of knowledge concerning special diets and more training to the catering contractor staff is required. I stress that a good diet of food is important to patients and surely aids their recovery. It is unfortunate that unlike staff hospital food available as freshly cooked is not available to the inpatients and that food has to arrive from a storage warehouse outside the hospital premises and heated up in microwave ovens.

Anything else?

I understand that one hospital which freshly cooks food for the inpatients is the Royal Brompton in London. My comments are therefore general and apply to most hospitals in general and not specifically to those in the Leicester NHS Trust. It is also lamentable that the calibre of meal menu planners such as Lloyd Grossman are lacking now owing to such personnel being frustrated by the hospital catering system. Patients require only one good meal a day to sustain them.