The call echoes the aims of the PS100 group of public sector catering and nutrition specialists, which last year launched a two-point plan for food standards and protected mealtimes across every area of public sector meal provision, including hospitals.
The Campaign, a coalition of patient interest groups and organisations, has criticised the Government for failing to set mandatory standards for patient meals, and allowing hospital assessments to create a false impression that patients are satisfied with the quality of food served to them on the ward.
It points to differences in the ratings meals get from the independent Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey compared to the scores achieved by hospitals in England through Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) assessments that are made by NHS teams.
Alex Jackson, co-ordinator of the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, said: “It is time for the Government to come clean about the sorry state of hospital food in England and set mandatory standards for patient meals.”
Interviewed by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme today, Andy Jones, chairman of the Hospital Caterers Association, agreed that the quality of meal provision across hospitals in England was patchy.
“We work hard with our members to make sure every patient gets a meal they want that is tasty and nutritious.
“We have been campaigning ourselves not only for mandatory standards but also minimum food spend because we believe that good food is good medicine and part of the recovery process for patients.”
Added Jackson: “This would only involve extending an existing policy which has seen it set mandatory standards for prison food and food served in government departments, to go alongside those that already exist for school food.
“Surely patients recovering in hospital have the same right to good food as government Ministers, school kids and prisoners?”