Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

The NHS hospitals that feed patients on 86p a meal - while others splash out £7.50

The data, compiled by the NHS Information Centre, give details of spending on food and drink in 2010-11 of more than 350 primary care trusts, foundation hospitals and other NHS organisations.

It showed more than 30 trusts - almost one in 10 of the total - fork out less than £5 a day on breakfast, lunch and dinner for each patient in their care.

The lowest spender is Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which spends just £2.57 a day.

Wiltshire spent the most -  £22.31 per patient per day.

Last spring, the Mail told how spending on hospital food had been slashed by up to two thirds in the last five years.

In some hospitals in England, budgets had fallen by 62 per cent, with some meals costing little more than £1. Katherine Murphy of the Patients Association said it was 'vitally important' patients got a balanced diet, but added that health bosses did not see food as a priority.

She said: 'Sadly, catering is not seen as a priority by the NHS, but it's a false economy.

'It's vitally important that people in hospital get a balanced diet – otherwise they will have only to stay in hospital longer.'

In the past 12 months, a series of reports by the official health service watchdog has exposed worrying standards of care in the NHS, in particular for elderly patients.

Overall, the health service spends around £500 million a year on food and drink for patients.

But there are growing concerns some patients are not eating properly while in hospital.

Around 200,000 NHS in-patients are discharged every year suffering from malnutrition, with 10,000 of those estimated to have become malnourished during their stay.

The Daily Mail's Dignity for the Elderly campaign has repeatedly highlighted abuses caused by underfeeding and poor nursing practice in hospitals and homes.

NHS figures released last year showed food worth £22million was thrown away untouched in the previous year because patients were unable or unwilling to eat it.

In some hospitals, more than one in five meals was returned uneaten.

Health Minister Simon Burns said: 'All patients deserve basic standards of care when they are in hospital and good food is one of them.

'We have set binding standards for good hydration and nutrition as part of a hospital's registration with the regulator.

'The amount of money hospitals are spending on food has gone up over the past five years, and waste is going down, but this rise in the amount spent on food does not necessarily mean better food for patients.'

Government buying standards include criteria to reduce salt, fat and sugar content and increase the amount of fruit, vegetables, fibre and oily fish on offer, according to the Department of Health.

It pointed out the amount of money hospitals spend on food had gone up over the past five years, with the average at £6.53 per patient per day in 2005-06, compared to £8.58 in 2010-11.

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Topics: NHS, NHS Trusts, Hospitals, Money