Post by spudsuzzy on Apr 8, 2012 14:24:38 GMT
I was in Cornflower ward at Queens Hospital for 7 nights in November 2011. I only luckily needed gluten free food for about 4 days as it was during this stay that I was diagnosed.
They did have a gf menu, however it was the same menu that I received every day so there was no variation on choices and I found, on looking at the 'normal' menus that there was suitable gf food items on there but they werent on the gf menu sheet, eg. Jacket potato with cottage cheese.
On the gf menu sheet there was poached cod (more like grilled and it stunk and tasted horrid), a country pie (? Not sure about this as it was also on normal menu so didnt trust the pastry and sauce being gf so avoided that one), cottage pie (had that almost every time), one more dish which I cant remember. So as you can see the choice was gr8...NOT!
However, people with no dietary problems got different choices every day for lunch and dinner which doesnt seem very fair for us does it. Its nit as if its a lifestyle choice. Even the vegetarians get more choice and being veggy is their choice its not as if they have to be veggy for medical reasons. Coeliac is essential for our health, we do not choose to be this way and the nhs should have done something about this by now in hospitals, after all you go there when you're ill, to get better, not to get worse by eating food you shouldnt or starving because of lack of choice. Breakfast was even worse. I was having rice crispies but I now knowmthat the kellogs ones are not suitable so I shouldnt have even had them. I had to bring in my own soya milk as a long weekend was not enoug time for them to get it ordered and delivered!!
So thats my experience of Queens in Romford, great hospital imho but shame about the gf food! Wouldnt want to have to stay in there too often. I would have to take a mini fridge filled with food and a portable gas stove to make my own dinners lol ;-)
They did have a gf menu, however it was the same menu that I received every day so there was no variation on choices and I found, on looking at the 'normal' menus that there was suitable gf food items on there but they werent on the gf menu sheet, eg. Jacket potato with cottage cheese.
On the gf menu sheet there was poached cod (more like grilled and it stunk and tasted horrid), a country pie (? Not sure about this as it was also on normal menu so didnt trust the pastry and sauce being gf so avoided that one), cottage pie (had that almost every time), one more dish which I cant remember. So as you can see the choice was gr8...NOT!
However, people with no dietary problems got different choices every day for lunch and dinner which doesnt seem very fair for us does it. Its nit as if its a lifestyle choice. Even the vegetarians get more choice and being veggy is their choice its not as if they have to be veggy for medical reasons. Coeliac is essential for our health, we do not choose to be this way and the nhs should have done something about this by now in hospitals, after all you go there when you're ill, to get better, not to get worse by eating food you shouldnt or starving because of lack of choice. Breakfast was even worse. I was having rice crispies but I now knowmthat the kellogs ones are not suitable so I shouldnt have even had them. I had to bring in my own soya milk as a long weekend was not enoug time for them to get it ordered and delivered!!
So thats my experience of Queens in Romford, great hospital imho but shame about the gf food! Wouldnt want to have to stay in there too often. I would have to take a mini fridge filled with food and a portable gas stove to make my own dinners lol ;-)