Hi folks,
I visited a relative in hospital last week and was struck that there were no food options – you ate what the kitchens provided you. Not even a fast food franchise around.
So I’m curious – is there a legal reason why there are no McDonalds, Burger Kings or Pizza Huts in hospitals? I would think they have a large captive audience – a bit like in airports, but with more chance of repeat trade.
By: mongu - 12th May 2003 at 18:20
Well whatever they say about the quality of NHS food (having tasted it, it can be perfectly reasonable these days) it is an added cost to the taxpayer.
If people decided they fancied fast food, they may not take the hospital food (you have to tick a sheet of paper at the moment to select your menu choice; why not invent a “no thanks” option?)
Therefore the costs decrease, revenue increases due to rent of the business units, and patients have more choice.
I cannot think of a single reason not to permit this to happen!
By: Comet - 12th May 2003 at 12:36
I used to work in Scarborough Hospital, the food in the staff canteen there was good. This food was also sold to visitors and provided for the patients. There was a high number of ethnic minority medical staff at the hospital and they were catered for admirably with various meat and vegetarian options. I never heard one complaint from either staff or patients about the standard of food in that hospital, and so if all hospitals could be like that there should be no need for junk food stalls anywhere in the NHS.
By: ageorge - 11th May 2003 at 20:40
I had the misfortune to spend a month in St Johns Hospital (Livingston) last year and was pleasantly surprised by the menu and general level of care , definately no complaints here .
By: kev35 - 11th May 2003 at 20:33
MacDonalds…. Why not make it a drive through?
“That’ll be £2.99 sir, just push the bed along to window no2. Sorry sir, the Big Mac and large fries is not available to gastrostomy patients.”
I think the reason for hospitals providing in house catering, via the cook and chill method, is purely down to money. As hospitals have gained trust status they are more in control of their budgets and as such set maximum cost targets per meal. Most hospitals will offer a limited choice menu and are duty bound to cater for people with special diets due to medical reasons (of which there are many) and for those from ethnic minorities or people eating a certain diet for religious reasons. I’m not sure how much is allocated per patient per meal now. If a trust can get away with paring the catering budget as low as possible they will.
There are also many clinical reasons why an in house service is desirable. Certain patients food intake needs to be monitored and controlled, in cases like diabetes:( , elderly patients who may have a suppressed diet, immuno-suppressed patients, those who are pre and post surgical.
Having said all that, I see no reason why companies such as MacDonalds should be automatically disallowed from building restaurants or franchises in hospitals. After all, a trust is happy to serve food to patients from their own canteens, at a price, as well as to staff and visitors.
regards,
kev35
By: mongu - 11th May 2003 at 19:03
That’s the point, they have shops where you can buy sweets and confectionery and given half a chance, the Hospital kitchens will serve you chips.
So why not allow someone to make an honest bit of money and give patients some choice – isn’t “patient choice” one of the buzzwords these days?
By: frankvw - 11th May 2003 at 14:43
Interesting idea… It would add some more patients to the hospital (but at least you would not have too much distance to walk when feeling ill), and it would also raise the duration of the stay. Imagine a diabetic buying a coke, or someone who just got a heart transplantation betting a triple Big Mac 🙂
But I can assure you some hospitals have shops where you can buy sandwiches, pizza, … Even in Britain!
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May 11, 2003 at 2:23 pm