HEALTH officials will be invited to visit a hospital's "superkitchens" which supply a Glasgow cancer centre's meals to sample the food for themselves following criticism that it resembled "1950s school dinners".
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC) has confirmed that it would review the food it serves up patients at its prestigious Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. Herald columnist Anne Johnstone, who is being treated for leukaemia at the unit, is campaigning for better food.
The centre's food comes from new kitchens at the Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock, Inverclyde, and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
An NHSGGC spokeswoman said efforts were underway to arrange visits for board members to visit the centralised superkitchens which pre-prepare patients' meals, blast freezing them to be reheated later.
She said: "There is an ongoing programme of board member visits to our facilities and we will look to offer members the opportunity to visit our new £10 million superkitchens to sample our nutritious menus as part of this programme."
The plans appear to stop short of meeting Ms Johnstone's challenge for board members to eat hospital food at their forthcoming board meeting next week.
Ms Johnstone, who has lost a stone in weight since she was diagnosed six weeks ago, described the food as execrable and collected the views of fellow patients to put to the health board amid fears it could be hampering their recovery.
She said: "When you consider the cost of the drugs, to scrimp and save on catering seems the most absurdly false economy."
A BBC Scotland documentary on obesity questioned the unhealthy food available in hospital canteens.
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