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New Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith launches attack on poor NHS food

Call for action: New Bake Off judge Prue Leith says food served by NHS in hospital must improve: Kirsty O'Connor/PA
Call for action: New Bake Off judge Prue Leith says food served by NHS in hospital must improve: Kirsty O'Connor/PA

The poor quality of much of the food served in London hospitals today came under attack from new Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith.

The food writer and restaurateur spoke out as campaigners claimed that half of the capital’s hospitals were failing to meet basic standards and almost two thirds failed to offer freshly cooked food to patients.

Responses from 30 London hospitals to a Campaign for Better Hospital Food survey revealed that most were struggling to serve or sell freshly prepared, healthy and ethically sourced food to patients, staff and visitors.

Ms Leith, who replaces Mary Berry when Bake Off moves to Channel 4, warned that rising prices, a shortage of NHS cash and the lack of legally enforceable standards meant hospital food was “vulnerable to a race to the bottom”.

She said: “Hospital food has a deservedly poor reputation and NHS patients and staff deserve better. This report shows that at the moment most hospitals are not serving fresh, tasty and wholesome food so we must have legal standards, like those already in place for school food and prison food, to make sure good food is a priority in our hospitals.”

Unappetising: examples of health service food posted on the Campaign for Better Hospital Food’s Flickr page ( Campaign for Better Hospital Food)
Unappetising: examples of health service food posted on the Campaign for Better Hospital Food’s Flickr page ( Campaign for Better Hospital Food)

The NHS spends £568 million a year providing 138.5 million meals for inpatients — a daily cost of £10.93 per person. Earlier this month Ms Leith spoke of a meal her mother was served in hospital. “I once watched my mother lift a cloche from her plate,” she said. “A grey lake slowly flowed to the edge. Next to this foul-smelling sludge was a pool of watery mash and some khaki peas.”

Today’s survey asked hospitals to measure themselves against five standards introduced in 2014. About a fifth, including Barnet, Chase Farm and Whittington, said they were serving ready meals in airline-style plastic trays. Hillingdon and Kingston said they were unable to provide a hot meal if a patient missed set eating times.

Requires improvement: Prue Leith says patients and staff deserve better than the current food on offer (Campaign for Better Hospital Food on Flickr)
Requires improvement: Prue Leith says patients and staff deserve better than the current food on offer (Campaign for Better Hospital Food on Flickr)

Almost two thirds were unable to provide healthy food for staff working night shifts, while almost a quarter failed to provide fridge space for staff to store food. Campaigners want vending machines to contain healthier options rather than sugar-loaded drinks and chocolate — and for hospitals to follow the examples of St Helier and Homerton which host fresh fruit stalls. The campaign uses a Flickr account to highlight examples of unappetising hospital food.

Its co-ordinator Katherine Button said: “The Government has failed to take seriously the dire state of hospital food for too long and now half of London hospitals are not meeting even basic food standards. Good food plays an essential role in recovery, well-being and morale, and patients and staff in NHS hospitals deserve better.”