"Poor food quality"

I am sorry to here of your disapointment with the food at University hospital Hairmyres.

In relation to patient catering we can advise that we are constantly striving to improve the standard of catering within the hospital. Patient catering opinion surveys are carried out each month across all inpatient areas with the results published quarterly. This provides valuable information in our ongoing aim of improving patient satisfaction levels. However, there are a number of reasons why some patients will, understandably, not be totally satisfied with the meal they receive. This includes personal preference, side effects arising from medication and general ill health affecting appetite. If a patient raises concerns regarding the catering and nursing staff are unable to resolve the issues they will escalate them to the catering manager who is happy to attend the ward and speak directly to the patient in an effort to address matters.

I will pass your comments about the canteen to ISS who provide this service and ask them to provide a response.

I have contacted our service provider and they have provided the response below.

We apologise that the visitor felt that the Catering and Hostess services fell below the high standards expected during their cousin’s stay. If possible can you advise the dates and wards concerned to allow me to complete a full review as uunfortunately, the comments made regarding the quality of food and service is general and we are therefore unable to provide a detailed response.

Nursing staff assist patients feeding and advise on food choices and are available to address any concerns patients may have. Normally if a patient raises concerns and nursing staff are unable to resolve, they will escalate to the Catering Manager who is happy to attend the ward and speak directly to patients.

All our meals have been assessed by NHS Lanarkshire’ s Chief Dietician to ensure they offer appropriate nutritional intake and balance and comply with national guidelines. The menus have also been considered to ensure better colour co-ordination for presentation purposes.

In common with most other hospitals in Scotland, Hairmyres Hospital operates a four-week menu cycle with four main course options including salads, fresh fruit and sandwiches on offer at lunch and supper times. This menu cycle is pan Lanarkshire and we do endeavor to offer dishes to suit all tastes. Hairmyres Hospital operates a ‘point of service’ system with patients making their choice at the time of serving.

In relation to Patient Catering we can advise that we are constantly striving to improve the standard of catering within the hospital, however, there are a number of reasons why some patients will, understandably, not be totally satisfied with the meal they receive. This includes personal preference, side effects arising from medication and general ill health affecting appetite. We can advise Patient Catering Opinion Surveys are carried out each month across all inpatient areas with results published quarterly. This provides valuable information in our ongoing aim of improving patient satisfaction levels. The results of the Patient Catering Opinion Surveys throughout this year have been above 90%.

We can also advise that we hold Patient Catering Public Food Tasting sessions twice yearly. The last food tasting session was held on 26rd October 2018 and the feedback was very positive.

All food is sourced from reputable suppliers. All suppliers are audited by accredited bodies to recognised industry standards which guarantees food safety. We comply with food safety regulations and guidance and operate a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) system. This system specifies what records and temperature controls are required at key stages of the food process.