Agenda item

5.1

Sylvia Parry asked a question about hospital food, stating that she had received several complaints that the food at the Northern General Hospital had not been suitable or up to standard. In many cases, patients had been given the wrong food for the conditions they were being treated for. 

5.2

Helen Rowe stated that LINk had already raised this topic as a concern, following an enter and view visit by LINk, and had produced a 15 point action plan of change for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, which had not been implemented. 

5.3

Members were extremely concerned about this topic, and several other cases of poor practice around hospital food were cited by Members of the Committee.   

5.4

Members also queried whether doctors had any input into what patients were given to eat, and raised particular concerns around appropriate food and feeding assistance for patients with dementia.

5.5

RESOLVED: That the Committee;

(a) notes its concerns over the standard of hospital food in the City;

(b) requests the Scrutiny Policy Officer to convene a working group on hospital food;

(c) notes that Members interested in taking part in this working group are Councillors Sue Alston, Janet Bragg, Tony Downing, Diana Stimely, Garry Weatherall and Joyce Wright, and Helen Rowe (LINk), and

(d) requests the Scrutiny Policy Officer to further investigate why the LINk action plan and subsequent recommendations on hospital food were not implemented by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.