Monday, 1 October 2012

Food for Patients in Hospitals

Hospitals are guaranteed that these places are sterile and accumulate many medical professionals. Everything in hospitals including food are provided for people who have health problems. However, nutrients which hospitals serve are different from ordinary because they are cooked particularly for particular patients.

In "Do hospitals cater for patients with special diets", it is discussed about  options of patient food that Kathleen who suffers from coeliac disease, which an immune reacts against some food components such as wheat, barley, and rye, is not satisfied with hospital food because of lacking of varied menu, contaminating, and even inadequate educating staff. However, in this tittle, Ms Steinbock who has charge of nutrition in hospital advises that all staffs should have some standard protocols  for  the patients who has diet problems and patients should speak what they need, and Ms Sleet who is chief executive of Coeliac UK say "All coeliacs have a right to have a gluten-free meal provided - it's a core part of your health. Not providing it is equivalent to denying someone their drugs - it's not a choice to be coeliac."

Many patients complain about taste and varied lists of food in hospitals. Some patients avoid this food. Even worse, some patients refuse to stay at hospitals. These evidences illustrate that patients are uneducated well and misunderstood about diets for patients and in hospitals. There are full of benefits when hospital prepare food for patients.
First of all, there are abundant of medical experts, especially nutritionists. People who know well about patients' condition are doctors and people who know well about food are nutritionists. Even all of them are in hospital and they work as a team. Consequently, when someone admit at hospital, a doctor will diagnose his patient and report all cautions including food. After that, nutritionist read the report and formulate correct  food for correct patient. Therefore, patients will be served all nutrients as patients require and they will recovery as soon as possible. As the result, it clarifies these technicians provide a good condition for all patients.
Moreover, food in hospital is formulated by nutritionists because many particular patients have limits in some nutrition. When patients have imbalanced diets, their disease will be stimulated and sometime caused to death. For example, patients who suffer from Diabetes have many problem with nutrients. They cannot overate sugar because high sugar causes high blood  sugar, induce many complications, or even death. More example, if high blood pressure patients overate salt, their hearts probably work hard or even fail. As a result, they will stay longer in hospital or be attacked by heart failure. Therefore, patients will be served a balanced diet in hospital.
Finally, not only great profits mentioned above but also more benefits if patients are accepted food in hospital. All foods in hospital are prepared under hygienic condition because of sterility in hospital. All patients can comfortably eat these food without worry about germ. Moreover,  they will serve all meals on time; as a result, patients do not feel frustrated for waiting or have stomachache because of peptic ulcer. Clearly, plenty of advantages are served with food in hospital.
In conclusion, although food in hospital is little tasty, it is suitable for patients because of varied support such as preparing by medical expert an under sterility, formulating particularly for patients, or serving on time. Personally, hospital should educate patients who are limited in nutritious amount  to know exactly amount and type of food they can consume before discharging. After that, they can spend their lives carefully and live longer.

Reference.
Do hospitals cater for patients with special diets.(September 28,2012). BBC NEWS. Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19763163.


6 comments:

  1. I almost agree with you, but I have so many likes and dislikes in food. I don’t want to eat the food tastes awful. It is the bad taste food in most of hospitals. When I stayed in a hospital, I couldn’t eat that food and couldn’t get enough energy, nutritionists and vitamin. As a result, I had to stay a little longer. If I can take them from pills instead food, I want to choose pills. I think hospital should give their pills to patients more.

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  2. The complain about taste of food in hospitals for many patients is a real problem I thing in all countries. On Brazil I worked in two hospitals, for Sodexo company, caring patients with a range variety of diseases. Some patients avoid hospital's food. And, like you said, some patients refuse to stay at hospital for long time. The hospital's food don't have a good taste because often they are prepared with many restrictions (without sugar, or salt, or lactose, or wheat, or barley, or rye...), and we cannot forget that a food prepared like that is hard to have a good taste. But these food are prepared aiming each particular case of patients and under great hygienic condition. Because of that patients have to be aware of the need to actually eat the hospital diet and stay in hospital as long as is necessary for its improvement.
    I don't agree when you said that this evidence illustrate that patients are uneducated well and misunderstood about diets for patients in hospitals, because we, nutritionists, used to visit these patients and to talk about their diseases and which food are recommended or not for them. Sometimes, we need to use suplements in their diets to give more energy (more calories) and more nutrients (vitamins and minerals). And sometimes, we need to use suplements without sugar (to diabetics), or without sodium (to high blood pressure), or without gluten (to celiac patient), or without lactose (to patients that have problem with enzime called lactase), or even others. But, in all these cases, we inform patients about the use of these supplements (why and how we will use). And, more than this, when the patients are going to home, we need to give them a list with recommendations about food. Then I thing that patients are educated about nutrition, but does not mean that they will follow the recommendations.
    I love to work in hospitals, I love to be nutritionist. Is wonderful when we get change the patient's nutritional status.

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    1. I like Grace's lengthy comment sharing her very relevant experience and knowledge on this topic. It's something I haven't thought about a lot, so Aor's post and the following comments have taught me a lot as well as being very interesting.

      I'm hoping I don't get to get too much first hand experience of hospital food for a while yet.

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  3. 2 week ago, I went to King Mongkut's hospital. My uncle was a patient here because he was a colon cancer. He was gotten chemotherapy and he has some effect form it. The doctor tell us he had to do MRI scan to make sure that cancer was killed completely and it take a time to queue for a week. So I looked after him and I notice that there aren't any nutritionist talk to him, just a nurse ask him that what he prefer soft or hard food? However, he didn't any hospital food. Finally, He ask me to bought a few cup of instance congee every time he want. However, I did it because I want him to eat and I think that he may lose much energies if he don't eat any thing. It importance to eat useful food Now, doctor let him rest at home although his legs still swell. and Doctor offer to fed him some chemotherapy but my family don't prefer to. So he change to cure at National cancer institute on this Thursday.

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    Replies
    1. It is Pramongkut Hospital, not King Mongkut. King Mongkut is also known as "King Rama IV" and is the grandfather of King "Pramongkut (klao)" whom Thai people usually address as "King Rama VI" and "King Vajiravudh".

      I know you mean the hospital located at a corner of Tuk Chai intersection, near the Victory Monument.

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    2. Thank you Cee, I misunderstood the name of the hospital.

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