"Catering across hospital"

This hospital is a good one in terms of medical provision with very caring staff who I can see are overworked and under staffed especially in A&E. Nonetheless the care they gave my partner through this week has been largely fine. I do think staff could at times better communicate what is happening edpevially during long waits to see the next person.

However, my biggest feedback to you concerns the absolute lack of gluten free food available across the catering units. For a hospital that prides itself in keeping folk healthy you really must address your coeliac awareness much much better. Almost all of the packaged food including sandwiches in the main restaurant are simply not gluten free. The crisps you sell are walkers crisps - again not gluten free. Despite advertising gluten free toast as a breakfast option there is none available and staff cannot guarantee a gluten free breakfast. In the end I had to ask staff to specially cook scrambled eggs and beans fresh for my coeliac partner (who having not been allowed to eat because of a scan that morning) then was nearly fainting for lack of suitable food.

Staff are clearly trained in what gluten free means and the potential for cross contamination - that is not the issue. But the clear lack of options for a coeliac patient is a big problem. If big chains can do this well and get coeliac association accreditation so too can big hospitals. Universities do, town and city councils do.

This not a request for ‘trendy’ gluten free food to be available - it is however a plea for the hospital to address the fact that as an auto immune disease, there MUST be food available for your celiac patients. I am concerned that, already ill, my partner will be one more I’ll as a result of potentially being glutened by accident in your restaurant.

Please please please do something about this - I expected better provision from catering outlets proclaiming healthy options in a hospital setting. By the way gluten free brownies in a cafe are not a healthy option!!!

Thank you for reading this, I hope you address this issue head on.