Vegan NHS food

[gertvegan]

Realfood are devising a comprehensive vegan menu pack for use in NHS hospitals. All of the menus are designed according to existing NHS requirements, so there will be menus for diabetics, coeliacs, renal patients etc. Anybody with experience of the NHS, either as a caterer, nurse or even a patient, who feels that they could help with the production of this pack, is welcome to send suggestions to the Realfood team. Recipe suggestions must be cheap (the NHS has less to spend per patient that prisons do per inmate), easy and vegan. Suggestions may be sent to menus@realfood.org.uk

NB I borrowed this from the www.veganvillage.co.uk noticeboard.

[gertvegan]

On the same subject is the "vegetarian and vegan meals in hospitals" UK-wide survey by Animal Aid earlier this year, HERE..

[harpy]

Blimey! That survey is quite an incentive not to be hospitalised, isn't it? Hope Realfood's pack will improve things a bit.

[snaffler]

This is one I could not find anything on so I am wondering if anyone has experience links or knowledge of the following.

My dad may be going to hospital for treatent relating bladder cancer this is something he is helping by changing to a strict vegan diet - depending on his treatment he may have occasional stays in hospital.

I understand the NHS a legal obligation to provide your dietry requirements if their is any info or tips or advice anyone can give me to back this up I would be grateful. My mum is fighter when it comes to treatment as is my dad be it holsitic, medical and alternative but I feel they may get fobbed of when it comes to dietry stuff.

Where as I will not ! As long as I have some ammo

Cheers

Jays

[Aurora]

I was in hospital for 4 days in February. Although it was a BUPA hospital and I completed the form for vegan food I had a terrible job getting anything remotely edible and although the chef did his best, when it was something such as curry or paella I couldn't really tell if they had cooked the meals with any dairy product in it.

I eventually played safe and stuck to porridge for breakfast (I supplied my own rice milk), jacket spuds with beans and salads. For sweet I had a piece of fruit or fruit salad.

As I said, I only had to have this for 4 days so I hope that the hospital can come up with something else for your father!

[DianeVegan]

I don't know what the hospital food is like in the UK, but here is the US the food would make you sick. If you are able to provide the meals for your Dad, do so. Otherwise, you may want your mother to supplement some of what he gets with items she buys or makes. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

[tails4wagging]

Before I went in to hosp, last sept,. I rang the dietition to inform her that I was vegan a week before I went in. She said she would let the catering dept,. know.

Good job I brought in emergency surplies. Like soya milk, soya spread and some vegan biscuits. As although they supplied a main meal which was yuck!! they did not supply a pudding.

Breakfast If I hadnt brought in soya spread and soya milk I would have been stuck as they had not even gave that a thought!!!

Do tell him to ake in some supplies. They can put the soya milk etc,. in the ward kitchen fridge.

[cedarblue]

interesting thread - i wonder if insisting on a specific diet if it is simply down to personal choice, is the stumbling block for such catering.

i expect if the 'different' diet was due to medical reasons all stops would be pulled out.

i wonder if folk who dont eat certain foods for religious/racial reasons have the same problem?

jays, do you/your family live near to the hospital to be able to take him some nutritious goodies in?? i know thats not the point but at least he will be able to eat some good stuff, freshly prepared with love.

[Realfood Mary]

Hi Snaffler.

I have been working on a hospital catering pack for the NHS, and though it is not completely finished yet (certain special dietary needs for very allergic people need to be double checked etc) I can send a bunch of suggestions from Realfood to the hospital, in order to help your Dad. The recipes are all within hospital budget, which is the main thing. Neil (my partner who runs Realfood with me) was in hospital a lot last year, and the state of the food was diabolical!

Anyway, the offer is there. I can send a week or a fortnight suggested menu for your Dad, and let me know if there are any specialist things, like hypoglaecemia or kidney problems, and I can send a diet for those as well.

Hope he is feeling better soon. He is lucky to have someone on side fighting his corner!

[Seaside]

Snaffler, I can't offer any advice since I have never been in a hospital, but I am thinking good thoughts for your dad, and for you and the rest of your family. I hope it all turns out for the best!

[DoveInGreyClothing]

Hope your dad gets well soon! I don't think the catering is all that fantastic if Scottish hospitals are anything to go by (visiting as an outpatient for my athsma the only vegan thing in their canteen was baked potatoes and beans. And even then I had to ask specially for them to leave off butter!) so you'd be well advised to bring your own supplies.

[pixeequeen]

Hey Snaffler, best wishes to your dad.
My mum has been in hospital a bit recently and she is lactose intolerant and intolerant to most meats. So she has been asking for the vegan food. They tended to not have anything readily available as a vegan option. but they were always happy to oblige to create a meal out of whatever that day was vegan. This meant sometimes the food was great sometimes it was awful, and often potato with salad. So we would take her in a few things for when it was bad, like sos rolls from holland and barrett and similar, in case. They may have been more cautious with her because its an intolerance thing I dont know, she didnt really meet any resistance though for wanting vegan.
Hope this sheds some light, he'll probably get along fine but perhaps provide some backups in case.
Big hugs for both you and you dad ( ) ( ), Take care.

[snaffler]

Thank you all very much for all your kind support, i have just been talking to my Mum she phoned me at work.

My dad has to go for Chemotherapy Treatment to start with this will only be a 24 hour stay to start with then day visits.

He is off tonight to see a faith healer near us and a certain person on here has done some distance healing, I know some people don't like to be mentioned but thank you so much you know who you are from myself and all my family .

Right now I feel helpless, desperate and really screwed up from time to time I know their is nothing I can do but keep my fingers crossed that things go well.

All those hugs are helping thanks everyone.

[Nivvie]

I have worked in a ton of hospitals, and it depends on the area as to what you get. As has been mentioned, it's always wise to take a few bits, put some yofu in the ward fridge etc.

It's definetly getting better for vegetarians, so give it a few years for the vegan side to catch up.

You'd be amazed how many patients bring their own food, even omnis, secreting chicken legs in tin foil in their lockers like it's a crime. I wish they'd just give it up, so we can put it in the fridge, and avoid adding food poisoning to their problems.

It really sickens me too, that prisoners get more per head then patients and school kids. I'm not saying they deserve less, but at least equal.

[spo]

Hi, Snaffler
Since I'm in the States, I can't help you on the diet in UK hospitals, although my hat's off to your Dad for going vegan. I do believe it will help his health. But, I just wanted to give you and your father my support and best hopes for a successful outcome. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers, too.
Let us know how he comes along, OK?
spo

[Melanie]

Hullo all,
right... i'm due to have an operation in April and will be in the hospital for at least a month afterwards. Now, does anyone know if they(NHS) have any sort of menu/whatever in place for vegans?
I'm getting a little bit stressed out about it at present. :/
(It's miles from my home too so there is little chance of bringing a great deal of food) :/
Please respond
Love,
Melanie
~xx

[Pob]

I asked Tabitha - she's a bit of an expert on being in hospital and she said that it depends on whether you are going private or not.

If you are private it should be pretty easy, if it's NHS then it's a bit hit and miss. Have a stash of soya milk and get everyone who visits to bring you stuff. Make sure you talk to the ward staff and explain what you can and can't eat as clearly as possible.

How about taking some cartons of alpro flavoured soya milkshake cartons, as they don't need to be kept in the fridge?

[gertvegan]

Contact Realfood Melanie, they'll be well clued up, www.realfood.org.uk

[gertvegan]

And not to put you off, the results of the Animal Aid survey is here.

It is a few years old now, hopefully its got better, maybe contact Animal Aid as well.

[Cumin]

Hullo all,
right... i'm due to have an operation in April and will be in the hospital for at least a month afterwards. Now, does anyone know if they(NHS) have any sort of menu/whatever in place for vegans?
I'm getting a little bit stressed out about it at present. :/
(It's miles from my home too so there is little chance of bringing a great deal of food) :/
Please respond
Love,
Melanie
~xx

Good luck Melanie, and be strong ! Be sure to put your foot down and don't accept anything less than a proper vegan meal! It's not like you're asking for any special additions.
We have some local vegan friends who had a terrible time recently in hospital and I think it's completely unacceptable.
They wouldn't do it to someone who asked for a Kosher meal..

Also -as you have lots of notice for your visit, they really will have no excuse. If you tell them now and get someone in charge to commit to looking after you ( in writing) then you'll have the by the ***.

[Melanie]

Pob, Gertvegan and Cumin; Thank-you all. Unfortunately it'll be NHS as the private treatment was only 2 months earlier and i'm going to need lots of aftercare too, which would have cost lots. I shall see if I can contact them and sort something out and I will certainly visit those links, it's a real problem as i'm a type one diabetic also :/
Thank-you all once again
-Hug-
Love,
Melanie
~xx

[snaffler]

First off thanks to all those well wishers for my dad, after in and out of hospital over the last two years various ops and things he is now in the safe, he is still living on a vegan diet after one relapse. He realises to fight cancer that the diet must be lifestyle change not just during treatment.

Any how thanks again Vegan Forumers (now all the family things have settled I may be tinkering again on here more in the future)

Here is a good tip from another vegan who was in hospital with my dad he told them he was a strict Budhist and could not any animal products, you should have scene them run around and help then....funny that the NHS as a whole ignore veganism in its pure sense but if its tied into your religion then fall over themselves to help you.

[Marrers]

There may be a vegan society local contact or a local group in the area you are going to hospital in who may be willing to visit and bring you food Melanie, since you'll be in for a while and so far away from home. You should look into that too.

[herbwormwood]

I had vegan food here
http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk
by asking for the multicultural menu.
It is halal and suitable for vegans, hindus, buddhists, muslims, jews and sikhs.
You have a right to vegan food, you don't need approval from a dietitian so don't let anyone fob you off with that.
There was always a a few vegan choices of main course and nice vegan pudding I could save to eat at night if I was hungry.
I took vegan margarine and soya milk with me but as I couldn't get out of bed to go to the ward fridge due to being too ill, I had to wait until the nurses had time to get them for me, so make sure you have plentu of snacks handy. Alpro and granose do a nice soya drink with a straw which is good when youre too ill to eat much.
Also there was a vegan nurse in the ward!

[Fyvel]

I hope your dad is doing well!

I haven't been on the receiving end of hospital foods since I was 6 years old, so it's been a while! But from my experience as a dietetic intern in my food service placement, let me just say that you can't trust the veg menus! At first I was impressed with the variety of veg menu plans (lacto ovo, lacto, ovo, and vegan), until I looked at what was actually being served. The vegetable soup had beef broth in in. Gelatin was being served on all menus. There was no soy milk. The margarine had whey in it, but was being put on sandwiches. Overall, the menus were a mess (they were automatically printed off the computer based on the inputs people had put in, and based on what allergies were listed for foods). I took it upon myself to fix up the menus and offer suggestions for alternate meals when the meain meals could not be easily made vegetarian, and substituted in actual vegan soups for the soup choices. (And I was impressed with how open the staff were to my suggestions - they really *wanted* to do it right). It was an interesting experience, but based on it, I would either question the ingredients for just about everything, or just bring in my own foods. I think a combination of eating their "safe" foods (like plain veggies, salads, etc) and bringing in food from home would be the best idea.

[Melanie]

Snaffler; I'm glad your dad's okay now
Marrers; I'll look into that, thanks sweety!
Hermwormwood; I shall ask them for a multicultural menu Ah yes, I know the one... (currently have one waiting to be drank in my fridge )
That's cool! (And very lucky!)
Thanks for the info. hun

~xx

[Melanie]

Fyvel; I'll be sure to question them... lots!
~xx

[herbwormwood]

The multicultural menu I had consisted of sealed containers made by a certified halal and kosher contract caterer, and each one contained an ingredient list, so I felt very happy to eat them. What a difference to the cr*p I had to eat off the standard menu, on previous admissions, which was as bad as all the worst cases related here.
Melanie, as you have probably heard, the NHS is different in different parts of the UK depending on the policies of the local NHS Trust. So if you are going to be in hospital for more than a day or two, you should go there and speak to the ward sister or head nurse, or someone like a ward clerk, to make sure they have a multicultural menu.

[Melanie]

I shall do
I'll probably be in there for a month or so, in Salisbury.
~xx

[RossClement]

Good luck Melanie, and be strong ! Be sure to put your foot down and don't accept anything less than a proper vegan meal! It's not like you're asking for any special additions.
We have some local vegan friends who had a terrible time recently in hospital and I think it's completely unacceptable.
They wouldn't do it to someone who asked for a Kosher meal..

Also -as you have lots of notice for your visit, they really will have no excuse. If you tell them now and get someone in charge to commit to looking after you ( in writing) then you'll have the by the ***.

The last time anyone in my family was in hospital was when my son was born. I, the male half of the parenthood bit basically provided all her food myself. The hospital insisted on patients eating all hospital food, or none. We went for none.

I would hope that if I go into hospital that I would get home-cooked vegan meals, or at least lunch boxes

For single people, I wonder if it might be a reasonable strategy to work out co-operatives with friends and/or family that if any one person goes into hospital, the others will provide the food on a rota basis. Or something like that.

[RachelJune]

I got the following email today from "Vegan Buddies" and thought of this thread. It shows that we can make a difference:

* * * * * * * * * *

Hello Faithful Buddies!

To all vegans, aspiring vegans, and interested others on this mailing
list, hello, and good to be writing to you all again.

As those of you who follow our forum know, one of the main admin, Neil,
has been extremely ill the last six months, in and out of hospital.
(Mostly in.) This has been a really interesting experience. If nothing
else, it has given us unique insight into the problems faced by vegans
trying to eat in NHS hospitals.

A major benefit of Neil being at New Cross is that the visibility of
veganism rose considerably, and the hospital added some vegan items to
its menu. It also veganised certain staples, that are used by everyone
(for example, pie crust, vegetable and fruit crumbles, mashed potato and
veggie shepherds pie.) Prior to Neil’s… how can we put this…
incarceration (!) these items all contained butter. However the hospital
catering department realised that it was as cost effective, and easy to
veganise these items, as well as being healthier. The large catering
packs of Stork are suitable for vegans, and can be bought and frozen in
bulk… which is useful for the hospital. It also indicates that the
regular stork that you see in shops could be very easily veganised.

Several members of staff became veggie, and one vegan, because of
exposure to Neil and his family, and soya milk became more widely available
to other patients, many of whom were Asian vegetarians who were
interested in an ethical diet.

Having seen how an NHS kitchen works Mary has gleaned some insight into
the politics and pressures faced by a Hospital catering department. It
is less like a kitchen in some respects, and more like a factory. The
major deciding factors in what food is put out are a) cost (must be
cheap) b) ease of preparation (must be simple) and c) speed (must be easy
to serve.) So having to provide for a vegan renal patient on a low
potassium menu was seen, initially, as a bit of a challenge.

However, they did learn that soya milks and mock meats are lower in
potassium than cow’s milk, and animal flesh, and if politics permitted
it might be considered sensible for hospital catering departments to
offer these options to non vegan renal patients, as it increases the
amount of vegetables, and therefore fibre and vitamins that they are allowed
to eat.

Interestingly too, all of Neil’s blood results showed that he was
fine with his vitamin levels – no problems getting b12 then!

[Fyvel]

Wow, that's great to hear!!