NHS bosses vow to change public perception of Hairmyres food

Nov 23 2011 by Andrea O'Neill, East Kilbride News

A POOR public perception was served up as the main obstacle Hairmyres Hospital bosses face when trying to cater to the palettes of their patients.

This was a view shared by senior management during an arranged visit to the East Kilbride hospital on Monday.

One year on from giving NHS Lanarkshire food for thought at a patient meal tasting session, set up by the health body, the News were again invited to meet with senior hospital staff to learn what improvements had been made on the back of increased pressure from our widely-supported ‘Dish Up Better Grub’ campaign.

East Kilbride-based Labour MSP Margaret McCulloch, who along with numerous elected members has given her full backing to our ongoing campaign, was also there to try the food for herself and discuss the menu with management, ward patients and representatives from the public partnership forum.

After a tour of the kitchens where we saw how the chilled meals are re-heated, we sat down with two knee-op patients in the orthopaedic ward, selected randomly by Ms McCulloch.

Both patients spoke positively about their food experience, but did highlight areas which needed improvement – more fresh food, better menu options and snacks between meals.

Anne Armstrong, of the Area Clinical Forum, was responsible for chairing a Task and Finish Group to bring about improvements to hospital catering.

She says both senior management and staff have adopted a more hands-on approach in an effort to improve the patient experience.

Anne said: “We’re under no illusions as to what our problems are and we’re working on improving them. We want to provide a really good service for patients and we’re trying to listen to what patients are saying.

“It’s not feasible to have a kitchen on-site. There’s no money for that. The method of cooking we are using is a good process – it’s safe, the temperature’s right, the nutritional value is right – but it’s how we marry it all together. I think the product we have is good, so if we just work in partnership with the patients in delivering that then our problems will be solved.”

During an open discussion with the Central Scotland MSP, service managers, dieticians and patient representatives, Margaret Maule, general manager for ISS Facility Services Healthcare, rubbished a recent study which labelled Hairmyres food the worst in the country for a second year.

She claims the figures, which showed 60 per cent negative feedback from patient’s food and drink experience, “completely contradicted” the hospital’s surveyed 87 per cent satisfaction rate.

Margaret said: “I believe what we offer is the best of what’s out there, we don’t do anything different to what people eat at home.”

Improving public relations and people’s general perception about the quality of the food was last year highlighted as the next step towards improving the overall patient food experience.

This was again dished up as the main challenge still faced by the health body.

David Brown, general manager for property and support services, said: “We have taken this challenge on board and done a lot of practical things across Lanarkshire. We’ve picked the most popular foods, had them nutritionally analysed and, I think, we’ve learned a lot from the focus the East Kilbride News campaign has brought. What we’ve found is we haven’t been very good in communicating that back.

“Having been here since the planning of this hospital, I know the food is every bit as good as elsewhere in Lanarkshire, but culturally we have lost that shine.

“I think your campaign has lanced the boil that has given us the opportunity to make that stepped improvement.”

Ex-patient Wilson Paton, who was served a fatty dish of pie, beans and chips before being checked out for a suspected heart attack, has worked with the PPF for the last two years in an effort to bring about changes.

He says although there is still a lot more work to be done, the East Kilbride community need to find faith in their local hospital again.

Wilson said: “I detect there is a bit of a siege mentality here because of the battering they (NHS Lanarkshire) have taken over the years. But there are a lot of good people here who are doing good things.

“You’re always going to get the malcontent, but from the community side, people have got to start having some faith in this hospital and I don’t think that’s the case just now.

“What people want to see is this hospital benchmarked against other hospitals in Scotland, not just Lanarkshire.”