Royal College of Nursing responds to hospital food review
Responding to the announcement of a new review of hospital food by the Department of Health and Social Care, Patricia Marquis, RCN Director for England said:
"Ensuring patients and staff have access to healthy, nutritious food in hospital is essential but you don’t need a celebrity chef to tell you hospital food needs an overhaul.
“More than six years ago the then-health secretary said hospitals should serve food that is of high quality and healthy.
“The Government hopes this review will improve the lives of nursing staff as well, yet many of our members tell us short-staffing is so rampant lunch breaks have become a luxury, not a necessity.
“Nursing staff won’t see improvements in hospital catering if they can’t even take time to eat a proper meal on shift without putting patients in harm’s way.
“Our expectations for this review go beyond half-baked schemes no matter how noble. This won’t make a lasting impact without a full-scale investment in the health and care system. If the health secretary’s prepared to review hospital food, when can nurses expect a full review of safe staffing including the need for legislation?”
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