Revealed, gulf in cost of NHS patients’ food
PATIENTS in some parts of Scotland are being served hospital food that costs three times less than that delivered to patients in other areas.
The average amount spent on catering, including staff costs, ranges from only £76 per week in one part of the country to £230 in another.
The official figures have sparked concerns that some patients are not being served the healthy and appetising meals crucial to their recovery.
In 2016-17 the average amount spent per week on hospital meals in Scotland was £90, which works out at £4.29 per meal, including equipment, staffing and related costs.
The lowest spend was by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, at £76, followed by £84 in both Fife and Grampian, £86 in Ayrshire and Arran, and £96 in Tayside.
The highest spend was £230 at NHS Shetland, with £139 in Orkney, £117 in the Western Isles, and £108 in Dumfries and Galloway.
Large health boards say they are able to bring down costs through economies of scale.
Yet the figures, analysed by the Scottish Conservatives, indicate a gulf between comparable health boards, with NHS Lothian spending £102 per patient – £26 more than NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Brian Whittle, health educa- tion spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, said: ‘The disparity in spending is extremely concerning.
‘You would expect island health boards to have a far higher spend because of transportation issues.
‘However, it is less clear why patients in Glasgow receive nearly £30 less per head every week than those in Edinburgh and other health boards.
‘Good, nutritious food is absolutely key to patients making a strong recovery. But this data clearly points to a lower quality of meal in some parts of the country, and the Scottish Government needs to intervene.’
The Scottish Daily Mail has campaigned for improvements to the quality of hospital food.
It revealed that NHS Scotland was spending less than 89p on some two-course meals, patients threw away 800 meals a day because they could not face eating them and parents had to bring ‘real food’ to hospital for their children.
Some patients were served food made 200 miles away.
Following the campaign, the Scottish Government introduced guidelines specifying catering ground rules and nutrition standards for food in NHS hospitals.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘The Scottish Government has led the rest of the UK by setting a minimum standard of hospital food.
‘We are committed to boards meeting these standards and focusing on providing patients with meals that meet the quality requirements, rather than being driven purely by cost.’
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘We are able to deliver our varied menus as we benefit from competitive contracts for food produce.
‘When bulk-buying on the scale we do, significant opportunities are created to achieve real value for money and all our patient food is produced from our own in-house central food production units.
‘We also listen to the feedback from our patients regarding the quality of catering services.’
Comment – Page 16
‘A lower quality of meal’