"The NHS is a public service, yet this decision has been made without any apparent public consultation and without considering the wider impacts it will have on the local economy" Medact
Salford Royal Hospital Trust is aiming to close down its kitchen and bring in an outside private catering company to provide pre-cooked meals for patients. The move has been widely condemned by unions and health dieticians, and UNISON has launched a petition against the move.
"Salford Royal wants to close down its kitchen and get rid of the chefs that prepare food for patients freshly every day" states UNISON "They plan to bring in a company to provide chilled or even frozen food from elsewhere.
"The hospital says it needs to spend money to upgrade the kitchen but with so-called 'cook-chill' food costing more in other Greater Manchester hospitals it's clear that the refurbishment would pay for itself - without ready meals being inflicted on patients" it adds "And ready meals are less popular than freshly cooked food according to patient surveys. Good nutrition is vital for recovery - with a fully working kitchen onsite the Royal can respond to its patients' needs. But once the kitchen is closed down it could be gone for good."
Campaigners are linking the campaign to figures showing that, based on hospital admissions, malnutrition has doubled in Salford over the last four years and is now almost three times higher than the rest of the country and the highest in Greater Manchester (see previous Salford Star article – click here).
"Our concerns are that this decision will result in cheaper but less appetising meals, but also that it fails to consider the wider positive social, environmental and economic dimensions of a hospital kitchen" says Elizabeth Atherton, Project Manager on Sustainable Diets and Health for Medact, a global health charity whose goal is to inspire and enable health professionals to act on the social, political, ecological and economic determinants of health and health inequality.
"The NHS is a public service, yet this decision has been made without any apparent public consultation and without considering the wider impacts it will have on the local economy" she adds "From what we can tell, this decision has been based on very narrow cost-cutting criteria."
Medact Manchester has written to clinicians in the Greater Manchester area and Salford CCG, asking them to support the call for the tendering process to be suspended whilst this decision undergoes a more public and thorough consultation.
Meanwhile, UNISON also believes it's a cost cutting exercise...
"The Trust's senior management are very keen on being David Cameron's and Jeremy Hunt's favourite hospital" writes Paula Barker, UNISON's regional convenor "But Government underfunding means the Trust has a financial deficit. Rather than standing up for Salford and lobbying Government for more money, the Trust's leadership want to prove how clever and competent they are by closing their deficit quickly. That means short-term cost saving measures - like privatising patient catering. This is a bad decision and one that needs to be changed."
Salford Royal denies that the move is to save money...
"Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust has taken the decision following a full board review to move to having freshly produced food delivered to site for cooking in ovens in our kitchen" a spokesperson says "The kitchen at Salford Royal needs investment for us to improve the service we deliver to patients, and by changing the way food is produced and procured, we can invest fully in a kitchen refurbishment. Our primary focus is not to save money but to re-invest back into a new facility.
"We will work with patients to determine our future supplier - patients, Public Governors and a number of staff groups, including dieticians, will be involved in the tender evaluation panel and larger numbers of these groups will be included in the food tasting sessions that form part of our evaluation process" she explains.
"All food provided to NHS patients, regardless of originator, is produced to British Dietetic Association Standards as a minimum and so the meals patients receive will have the same or greater nutritional value" she adds "All staff currently employed in the catering operation at Salford Royal will be retained within the new catering operation or the wider hotel services department. There will be no redundancies."
Almost 1,500 people have signed a petition to `Stop The Slop: don't bring in ready meals for patients at Salford Royal...' To read and sign the petition – click here
* See also previous Salford Star article: Salford Royal Hospital PFI equity owned offshore as companies cash in on NHS - click here
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