Like hospital food do ya?

Traction Man, currently languishing in a UK NHS hospital has developed a splendid game called hospital food bingo which is just going viral. He's even got his own 'downfall' video on YouTube. See below. It's bloody hilarious.

Having worked in UK hospitals before all the PC lo-salt, fat, and sugar regimen came on board, I can appreciate his hilarity. UK NHS Hospital food has never been wonderful because it has to be prepared at a central location, put on individual trays, then trucked, cooling all the time, to where the patients are in ‘insulated’ carriers, often serving more than two wards. From kitchen to patient can take thirty minutes or more.

The food wouldn't be so bad if it was made school dinner style and brought to the wards in large heated containers reminiscent of school dinners or Service Stations and measured out individually from a large 'Hostess' type trolley, hot food like Scrambled egg and bacon in one layer, desserts on second shelf, with a second trolley laden with chilled diet and salad stuff. At least patients could say (Having seen the concoction they are about to be served) "Erm, is there anything else?" Such a means of delivery might reduce 'choice' a little, but failing having a specialised cook and server attached to each ward like in some Canadian Hospitals, might just improve matters.

Instead, food which might have started out as quite edible, is all measured as per diet sheet in the kitchen, put on a tray and left to go manky while it is heated and reheated en route to the ward. There's your problem area. Although hospital kitchens appear to have tried to improve the look of their food output by adding artificial colourants like in 'Hospital food bingo', this merely detracts even further from their outputs comestibility. The problem remains, as it always does, with the 'centralise it' box ticking logistical model. Top down political 'management' strikes again. This is what happens when 'bean counters' are in power.

What did I have for breakfast? Small cheese omelette, three rashers bacon, toast, coffee and grapefruit. Sigh life is so hard. Poor old traction man will be stuck with soggy bacon, concrete eggs, the toast won't be bad because for some strange reason certain UK hospitals keep a toaster on each ward. Although in my recollection, as regards drinks, the tea makers did need some serious retraining and the coffee didn't bear thinking about (Horrorstruck shudder).