CONTROVERSY is never far away from the thorny issue of hospital meals. From bringing in celebrity chefs to spicing up menus, to tackling the number of people who just don’t eat them, the Government has continually pioneered new ways to improve satisfaction for patients.
But new figures show that up to £12 a day is being spent on food for prisoners held inside police cells when there is no space for them in regular prisons.
Many regular prisons across the UK, too, appear to spend more per inmate than the Merseyside hospitals do on patients.
Hospital trusts in the area argue that economies of scale enable them to provide food patients like for a lot less than people might expect, and therefore the cost per head shouldn’t be used as a barometer of the quality of food.
They also point to increasing satisfaction levels in national surveys.
However, the disparity between money spent on prisoners and the smaller amount spent on patients has angered some, including nutritionists in the area.
They argue that, at a time when people are at their weakest, they need to have as much spent on their food to ensure they get the nutrients they need to help the process of getting better.
And, to that end, the blame is being placed on the Government. The Taxpayers Alliance, the organisation which highlights wasted public money, also wants to know why there is such a disparity between the prisons and the hospitals.
So today, we’re asking: Do hospital patients get a good deal on meals?
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