Big Mac healthier than NHS big muck

Feeling swill ... NHS meals blasted

A BIG Mac is healthier than 75 per cent of NHS meals, a shock study has revealed.

One curry served to patients had SIX times more fat than a KFC Zinger Burger with fries.

And a pasta dish had over THREE times a person’s total daily recommended saturated fat intake and TWICE the salt limit.

The damning truth about NHS grub was unearthed by the Sun-backed Campaign for Better Hospital Food.

It wants MPs to bring in minimum dietary standards on wards — which schools and even JAILS already have.

Campaigner Alex Jackson said: “It’s staggering to think sick patients could be better off eating at McDonald’s.

“Without standards, many meals will remain unhealthy and unappetising.” Seventy-five per cent of hospital nosh contained more saturated fat than a Big Mac, while 60 per cent had more salt, experts discovered.

And 40 per cent of meals had higher saturated fat levels than a 9in Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza. The stodgy fare helps explain why 30million dishes a year go uneaten in English hospitals, despite £50million spent in the past decade to improve them.

Researcher Katharine Jenner warned bad diets threatened patients’ health.

She said: “Salt and saturated fat is linked to heart disease and strokes.

“Hospitals should provide tasty and healthy meals, rather than ones that could lead to more health problems.”

The probe by Mr Jackson’s Sustain group examined 25 meals from the NHS Supply Chain, which provides food to almost every hospital trust.

Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza ... lower saturated fat levels than 40% of hospital meals

The crusade — which includes the Patients Association and organic farming charity the Soil Association — is now urging MPs to table a Transforming Hospital Food Bill in the Commons for the first time.

The Department of Health said hospitals decided diets but admitted yesterday:
“There’s no excuse for any hospital offering poor quality food.”

 

myView

By KATHERINE MURPHY, Patients Association chief exec

PATIENTS often tell us they didn’t like the food in hospital — and the facts bear this out.

The Campaign for Better Hospital Food reckons more than 82,000 meals go uneaten every day.

Improvements would not be expensive or difficult.

But I fear it will be easy to cut budgets for things like food and cleaning without appreciating the impact on patients.

Good food can bring joy to patients in difficult times and help recovery.

That’s why we support the Transforming Hospital Food Bill.

20th May 2012
The Sun