A SHOCKING picture shows an “omelette” served to a patient at one of Scotland’s biggest hospitals that has been described as “unsuitable for dogs”.
The image of the “horrific” meal shows a tiny omelette so charred from overcooking that pieces have broken off.
A photograph of the revolting creaton, served up to a female patient at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, was sent to an MSP who shared it on social media.
Alex Cole-Hamilton wrote: “My constituent has been in Royal Infirmary Edinburgh ten days.
“This was her dinner tonight. Food’s been consistently poor. (It’s an omelette btw).
The Lib Dem MSP for Edinburgh West called in the same tweet for Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to “challenge contractors?”
Social media users were disgusted by the photograph.
@BloodyPolitics wrote: “That’s an omelette? It looks horrific. And where are the vegetables? One can only recover properly on a balanced healthy diet.
“Making an omelette even for large numbers is not rocket science. Scotland’s flagship hospital is one scary place.”
@Dr_IRMS added: “That’s not an omelette. That looks like a burnt Yorkshire Pudding sandwich with an even more badly burnt salamander as filling.”
@AileenHenry said: “Omg you wouldn’t feed that to the dogs. My brother’s in hospital at the moment and he was given a burnt shell pie and equally burnt beans the other day. Equally unsuitable for the dogs.”
@Murphy807 wrote: “Bloody hell. I would have guessed a well fired bridie.
@libsg41 added: “All too typical of [Scottish] NHS food. Plenty of money for vanity projects. Meanwhile our ill are being fed big slop.
“Nutrition is key in helping the sick get better. But why feed patients properly when you can virtue signal with foreign aid and new offices in far of places?”
In her response, Ms Freeman appeared to be more concerned about the manner in which the matter had been raised than what the picture showed.
She told Mr Cole-Hamilton: “Alex, you should always draw constituent concerns and such matters to my attention.
“But we don’t resolve them on Twitter. Let’s discuss tomorrow when I’ll see you at Committee.”
It was reported last year that some Scottish hospitals are spending as little as £2 per head on catering each day for mental health patients and older people with dementia equating to £730 per year.
However, the average spent on Scottish prisoners was £941.70 with the daily price per day at £2.58.
Hospitals must ensure that patients receive every day breakfast, two hot meals, with two or three courses, and a minimum of two snacks as well as seven to eight beverages.
Mr Cole-Hamilton later wrote on his Facebook page: “I’m not going to sit back and accept this for patients in the flagship hospital which serves our nation’s capital.
“I’ve arranged to meet the Cabinet Secretary for Health first thing tomorrow in Parliament to get to the bottom of the terms of contract with the supplier and to take steps to resolve.”
Another Edinburgh resident responded to the “omelette” snap by publicly sharing his own image of the food he was served.
John Williams wrote: “Well done. ERI [Edinburgh Royal Infirmary] food is appallingly bad. The only good stuff is either a special menu like hindu or gluten free. Canteen is also good.
“Suggest Jeane [Freeman] is served a normal patient meal. I was switched to anything but patient menu as I was losing too much weight.”
The images shows one piece of meat with a bit of gravy and eight Brussel sprouts with a scoop of mashed potato.
Nicholas Leech, from Norden, Greater Manchester, shared a picture of “sloppy swill” that was served to his late father in October 2018 by “NHS England”.
The picture shows a concotion of peas, gravy and a white sauce.
He wrote: “No better in NHS England. Here’s an attempt at food served to my late father last October. Another contractor getting away with it.”
George Curley, Director of Facilities, NHS Lothian, said: “I would like to apologise to the patient who received this meal and reassure them that we will investigate further. It goes without saying that this falls far short of the high standards that we would expect.
“We have a range of alternatives available to patients and at the very least, we would expect them to be offered soup and a sandwich and I would be disappointed if wasn’t the case.”
