Hospital Kitchen Hygience 'Poor'

[Guest guest]

Shocking hygiene standards have been found in some UK hospital

kitchens, a consumer group reports.

Which? reviewed hygiene inspection reports for 50 hospitals and found

evidence of cockroaches, mice and mouldy cooking equipment.

 

An online survey by the organisation also revealed 29% of NHS

patients still felt hungry after their meals.

 

But the Department of Health said hospital food had improved in the

last few years.

 

Which? said it's trawl of three years' worth of hygiene reports

revealed problems such as dirty equipment, cockroach infestations,

lack of soap or hot water, with poor refrigeration also cropping up

regularly.

 

The government paints a rosy picture, but the reality is very

different, with many patients left with a nasty taste in their mouths

 

Neil Fowler, Which?

 

Other hospitals used food fridges to store medical supplies, had out-

of-date foods and failings in food safety procedures, Which? added.

 

But it said not all hospital catering facilities were dirty and some

were highlighted for their cleanliness.

 

Hungry

 

In a separate online survey of 833 hospital patients, the consumer

group also found some patients were going hungry.

 

Twenty-nine percent of NHS patients questioned said they felt hungry

after their hospital meal compared with 4% of private patients.

 

Neil Fowler, editor of Which?, said: " Hospital food hasn't got the

best of reputations but you'd expect the kitchens to be clean at the

very least. Unfortunately, we've found this isn't always the case.

 

" Our survey shows a low level of satisfaction with hospital food in

NHS hospitals. The government paints a rosy picture but the reality

is very different, with many patients left with a nasty taste in

their mouths. "

 

A Department of Health spokesperson said: " Last month the independent

Healthcare Commission found that nearly all trusts (over 96%) were

meeting the core standards on hospital food.

 

" Last year, the independent Patient Environment Action Teams found

that 90% of hospitals were rated good or excellent for food standards

compared with 17% in 2002.

 

" There are some excellent menus around but we recognise that more

needs to be done. The government has made a commitment to establish

nutritional standards for the NHS and this work is now under way. "