SCOTLAND could become the first country in the UK to make it legally binding for hospitals to provide healthy, nutritional meals.
The Scottish Government has announced plans for a consultation on whether or not nutritional standards in hospitals should be put on a statutory footing.
It comes a year after The Herald highlighted how some patients were being fed for little more than £4 a day, raising concerns about the nutritional value of food served in hospitals.
Health Secretary Alex Neil made the announcement yesterday as he revealed plans to invest £300,000 in helping health boards improve nutritional care.
He also confirmed that improved nutrition and catering standards would be introduced in hospitals in the New Year, as well as extra food inspections.
Medical groups said the announcements were a step in the right direction but warned more needs to be done to address patients' diets.
Dr Lewis Morrison of the British Medical Association's Scottish Council said: "Patients deserve the best care we can offer them when they come into hospital. We should be doing all we can to aid in their recovery, helping them to get back home, and nutrition is an important part of that process.
"However it is not just in hospital kitchens - if they still exist - where hospitals can improve on catering.
"Patients can be found enjoying crisps, sweets and unhealthy fizzy drinks all sold to them from trolleys on the wards or in concessions on the hospital premises.
"Hospital corridors are littered with vending machines selling high-sugar, high-fat food and drink to patients, visitors and staff. These unhealthy foods are supplementing the poor quality of hospital food."
The Scotland Patients' Association said hospital food was "definitely in need of attention" and improvements to it were "long overdue".
However, executive director Dr Jean Turner questioned the need to make the issue legally binding,
She said: "I think it's good that we are going to have a look at how taxpayers' money is being spent when it comes to hospital food.
"But I'm not sure about making it legally binding - you would think that it was obvious that patients need healthy, nutritional food and the people involved in planning and preparing that food must know that, so why is there a need to make it legally binding? I think we need more inspiration, not legislation."
Dr Turner said she wanted to see more detail on how the £300,000 investment would be spent.
Scotland was the first country in the UK to introduce national standards for food, fluid and nutrition in hospitals and the Scottish Government claim that since 2008, more than £1.75 million has been spent improving those standards.
Mr Neil said: "We already have rigorous standards in place, and clear guidance about how these standards can be met. Catering teams, dieticians, specialist consultants and nursing staff are doing great work to ensure that patients are getting nutritious and balanced diets in hospital.
"We have made great progress, but I recognise that there is always more that can be done to drive up standards. We have been working on these new guidelines for some time as part of an ongoing review of nutritional standards.
"This is part of a package of measures that will help to ensure that hospital food continues to improve, that NHS boards have the appropriate amount of support and advice that they need to deliver these improvements and that we have an even stronger inspection process."
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