Hospital Food: Agents of Change?

The Food Programme

BBC

Arts, Food

4.4 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hospital food has long had a bad reputation, but after several high profile campaigns, are things finally starting to improve?

In England, new regulations are being implemented which are hoped to transform the meals being served, reduce waste, and make sure staff have access to good food 24/7. 60% of hospitals are already said to be complying - will the rest be able to catch up?

But with many hospitals now functioning without real kitchens - can frozen or chilled meals that are simply re-heated in hospital be a part of that? Apetito, one of the biggest caterers, believes they can be, and invited Sheila Dillon to see how they prepare tasty and nutritious food in bulk.

While in Cambridge, Sheila meets those working on a brand new Children's Hospital and hears how they want good food to be central to the hospital's philosophy. It plans to give patients and their families access to more dining spaces to avoid children eating meals in bed (when possible), and it plans to have it's own kitchens cooking food from scratch.

Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Transcript

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0:49.0	Hospital food has a bad reputation. You mention it and you often see noses wrinkle
0:59.5	and eyes roll. Over the years there have been several high profile campaigns to improve it.
1:06.0	I've personally made several programs over the past few years, including one last year when we asked if we were finally at a turning point.
1:14.7	For many people they haven't seen the difference yet and that's because it's so difficult
1:18.7	to move a big bureaucracy.
1:21.0	But enormous lot of things are happening. We have put so much work into it and
1:25.1	it's going so well it would be criminal if we undid it. I saw then good food
1:30.9	being prepared from fresh ingredients in large kitchens on a hospital site.
1:36.0	I talked to chefs and catering teams committed to this new and also very old method of feeding sick people.
1:44.3	One third of patients when they come into hospital at risk of malnourishment.
	...

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