The palatability and quality of food served in hospitals have vital importance. When food is appetizing, patients want to eat it, and this can then help promote their health condition. The hospital food should cater a patient's personal dietary needs. Over the years, poor food quality in hospitals has become the most common complaint among patients.
In an article published in DailyMail, patients in Sydney are served with a warm meal of pumpkin soup, apricot chicken, peas and mashed potatoes. Those in Germany, schnitzel, a dumpling noodle dish called spätzle, salad and cake are given to people under treatment.
For 14 years, Rachel Flint has been dealing with Ulcerative Colitis, an incurable kind of disease. Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic disease of the intestine in which the lining of the colon becomes inflamed and develops tiny open sores, or ulcers, that produce pus and mucous. This condition is the result of an abnormal response by your body's immune system.
NHS hospitals are serving curries to people who have just had major stomach surgery, a patient has claimed.
Recently, the 27-year-old journalist was hospitalized in Cardiff, South Wales, and was surprised with the type of food she was served, Wales Online reports.
After the operation, Rachel has to stay in the hospital but because of her condition, she's left with limited choices of food.
Rachel being 'frustrated', decided to take pictures of the meals and post them on her blog, The Big Stoma Bucket List, which she has used to document her journey with the condition.
She shared pictures of the so called 'meals': a plain baked potato with no filling, fish with no sauce and just two sausages with gravy.
She said: "As far as I can see, the reason I'm in here still is my ostomy output is liquid as soup. But that's mainly because, as per usual, the NHS simply cannot understand my intolerance enough to feed me.
"I'm in a total catch 22 dilemma. My output won't go back to normal until I eat normally, but I can't do that while I'm in here, which is something I can't seem to get into anyone's head - it is genuinely like I'm speaking in Chinese.
"The fact is that despite being diagnosed lactose intolerant in a hospital they have never ever coped with it - something about having an allergy makes no sense to the health service."
"Many of the sandwiches are brown bread and have sweetcorn in them, and curry is usually on the menu - despite the fact this is a surgical ward and many people have just had Stoma surgery!"
"While resturants have adapted to intolerances and allergies over the years hospitals have thrown their hands up and said, 'Well, their relatives will have to feed them'!
"But what if you're on your own (like me)? Well you simply starve. Starving might be a little bit over the top, but after 52 hours of being nil by mouth my choices in the Cardiff hospital have been quite frankly ludicrous.
"I can't get better without the right food, I can't heal, and I can't put on weight. I've already lost all my hard work from the last six months of gym work and training and I'm back to 7st 6lb - down from 8st 1lb, a weight I'd never achieved before.
"I'm angry, it upsets me, it drives me around the bend. I simply don't understand how they get nutrition so damn wrong and find it so hard.
"Yes, we are not expecting caviar and champagne, but simply a bowl of pasta would suffice. Hospital food is never going to be Michelin star but it should be edible and nutritional and not be an eat this or starve situation."
Rachel is now doing 101 adventures with her stoma bag, Winnie (the poo bag) over the next five years, learning how to find a good way to live life to the fullest.
Follow her blog here.