Bring tasty food back to hospitals

I AM writing with my experience of hospital food in response to Grant Woodward’s column (Yorkshire Post, January 11).

I worked as a volunteer at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and on my first day was sent to the kitchens to fetch some cups and saucers for the coffee trolley round. I was surprised, on my approach, not to smell cooking. The kitchens were deserted and nothing was cooking!

Later, the “lunch” arrived. I helped to serve it out. It was meat pie and veg. The food had been sent from some facility away from the hospital. The tinned veg were swimming in water and the “meat pie” was disgusting to smell and by reports from patients – quite unpalatable.

It is hard to understand when the kitchens are so large and on the premises, that food cannot be cooked and prepared in site. Several patients told me that they order baked potato and salad every day as it is the only choice prepared at the hospital. Breakfast is also very unappetising. Patients are given a small packet of cereal, rubbery toast and butter butter and marmalade or jam in a small sachet. These are very difficult for ill or elderly patients to open and even young people with arthritic conditions are left to struggle as the nurse has usually moved on from their bed when they need help.

During my own recent stays in my local hospital, my husband has brought me in lovely meals as I could not face the choices offered by the hospital. I realise how lucky I am to have a family that can help me as I know some patients have no one to see that they eat appetising food to help with their recovery. I feel really strongly about this and wish someone like Loyd Grosman could help to make some improvements and bring tasty cooking back into hospital kitchens.

Wholesome and palatable fare

From: DS Boyes, Upper Rodley Lane, Leeds.

My first ever experience of hospitalisation was emergency admittance to Ward 60 (Urology) at St James’s in December 2011 for three weeks, discharged after surgical treatment on New Year’s Eve (Grant Woodward, Yorkshire Post, January 11).

At all times I found the food given whether hot or cold, to be wholesome and palatable, with a wide choice of menus catering for every taste from an omnivore like me, to options for vegetarian, Halal and Kosher needs. The menus were distributed daily in advance and food was served by ‘housekeepers’ who doubled as ward cleaners and did a first class job all round.

I looked forward to my three meals a day and enjoyed every one.

The contract for food supply at Leeds Hospitals, I understand, is held by a company in South Wales with chilled or frozen bulk supplies delivered by refrigerated road transport to a central depot in Leeds from where it is distributed to each hospital for re-heating just before being served up, I presume.

Hospital food is not like you get at home, nor in any restaurant but in my personal experience it is perfectly adequate in every way. Although I do understand there are some people who would find fault with anything.

The catering, medical treatment and personal care I received at St James’s Hospital in Leeds was very good in every respect.

Credible energy policy needed

From: David F Chambers, Sladeburn Drive, Northallerton.

BILL Marsh’s claim (Yorkshire Post, January 7) that power supply is more important than the NHS is at first glance preposterous. To be deprived of medical services is unthinkable. But these services are utterly dependent on a reliable supply of electricity and independent generators operate only so long as there are deliveries of fuel oil. Without electricity all public services would collapse, including, in the end, the Government.

Is Britain’s emission of carbon threatening the future of the planet? Perhaps it is, perhaps not, but not another penny should be spent on “renewable sources” until our future independent supply of electricity by conventional/nuclear means has been achieved.

I agree entirely with Bill Marsh. The Prime Minister – if he can – should give us and everyone else a credible account of what he is going to do. A policy independent of windmills, private generators and the EU would be appreciated, but it is dangerously late in the day and that “anarchy on the streets” is no exaggeration.

Town hall ‘model’ mystery

From: Michael J Robinson, Park Lane, Berry Brow, Huddersfield.

WHEN I saw your back page feature on Leeds Town Hall (Yorkshire Post, January 13), I was reminded that I had been told some time ago that when the founders of Melbourne, Australia, had sought to build a town hall for their new town, someone had said that he could obtain the plans of Leeds Town Hall for them to build one modelled on the Leeds building, and that the result is that Melbourne’s Town Hall is a copy of Leeds Town Hall.

Your feature prompted me to try to find out if this was true, but I have been unable to find any evidence to support this claim. Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 to a design by Cuthbert Brodrick. Melbourne’s Town Hall is described as being designed by local architect Joseph Reed and was opened in 1870. A picture of Melbourne’s Town Hall dated 1910 does show a building remarkably similar to Leeds Town Hall, and the Leeds Town Hall website includes the brief reference “Leeds Town Hall was used as a model for buildings across Britain and the British Empire” but provides no other details. Can anyone tell me what the truth of the matter is, please?