Ditch the junk from hospital canteens and vending machines

Kath Dalmeny, spokesperson for the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, run by Sustain, an alliance of food and health organisations, said: "The standard of food served to hospital staff and visitors can be absolutely shocking. Hospital vending machines are usually packed with salty, sugary and fatty snacks and fizzy drinks. And some hospitals have rented out their retail space to fast food outlets such as Burger King and Subway, and newsagents such as WH Smith promoting cut-price chocolate. It is shameful that trusted NHS premises are used to promote unhealthy lifestyles in this way."

"Hospital staff work long hours and many are on a low income, so the food available in their workplace should give them every possible support to lead healthier lives. Hospitals should also promote healthy eating to patients and their families – many of whom will be receiving treatment for, or be at risk of, diet-related diseases such as cancer, heart conditions and diabetes. Hospitals could be the rare opportunity to help inform people of the links between the food we eat and our health and well-being."

"We applaud Simon Stevens for pushing for healthier hospitals, but how will he bring about change? Cash-strapped hospitals will always feel the lure of lucrative fast-food contracts and profitable junk food vending machines. Simon Stevens is right to highlight the problem of PFI deals in which commercial food outlets have been built into the long-term hospital budgets. Appealing to the hospital accountants and the companies they work with to be "responsible" is unlikely to be sufficient to bring about change. Our experience in the days prior to compulsory school food standards showed that PFI deals in schools were a significant barrier to improving healthy eating, with some local authorities having to spend thousands of pounds to break the terms of their PFI contracts to get rid of unhealthy vending machines."

"The health of patients, their families and their NHS carers will only be protected by better food standards [1], and meaningful sanctions if those standards are not met [2]. We all pay for these services, so we have a right to expect better and for public money to be used to support healthy lives.”

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[1] Standards are already in place for patient meals, although arguably not yet good enough, and our campaign investigations show that many hospitals are not yet complying with the standards. Meanwhile, no health or sustainability standards apply to hospital vending machines, staff canteens, food served to visitors, or retail outlets. Sustain promotes the need for “Whole Hospital Food Policies” to cover all food and food information provided on NHS premises. Such policies apply to school food through well-established, recognised and successful Whole School Food Policies.
[2] For patient meals, hospitals are measured by the Care Quality Commission on their compliance with standards, and receive "CQUIN" payments on the basis of their achievements. See the Soil Association's briefing on the CQUIN system at: http://www.sacert.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=OUWbKgWATmA%3D&tabid=2185