A HOSPITAL patient whose “cremated omelette” made national headlines is now getting her husband to deliver all her meals from Marks & Spencer.
Irene Lang, 68, was served the inedible omelette following major heart surgery at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI).
Irene was so disgusted with the experience she gave up on hospital meals altogether and her 70-year-old husband, Martin, is buying everything she eats from M&S.
Mrs Lang, from Edinburgh, took a picture of the omelette and passed it to her local MSP, who shared the image anonymously on social media.
Today her son, Kevin, 39, spoke out about the scandal of food at the ERI, whose management yesterday apologised and promised to investigate.
Mr Lang, the exective director of external relations at the Law Society of Scotland, said: “I am very angry that they are serving that quality of food to patients, especially after a serious heart surgery.
“My father is now bringing in food from Marks & Spencer to keep her eating. It’s probably cold salads and prepared meals.“
He added: “It is important that patients are served good, healthy and nutritious food to help with recovery.”
Mr lang said his mother had been in hospital for two weeks and could be sent home this week.
Referring to the omelette, he said: “When it was put in front of her she was instantly put off by it. It was supposed to be a cheese and mushroom omelette.
“The staff offered her a slice of toast as they didn’t have anything else to offer her, which she took but, she had to wait till breakfast until she ate again.
“The staff thought this food was appropriate and gave the same meal that looked similar to another patient.
“They were embarrassed and apologised to my mum and told here how to make an official complaint about the food.
“The manager came round to apologise to my mother. All I want is my mother and other patients to be served better quality food.”
A photograph of the revolting creaton, served up to Irene at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, was sent to an Alex Cole-Hamilton on Monday 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 (Mon). 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?”
NHS Lothian apologised yesterday and promised to investigate.
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.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Meals served in NHS hospitals should be healthy and nutritious.
“We are disappointed when there are any instances where this is not delivered and we understand that in this case NHS Lothian have apologised to the patient.
“We have been clear that all of our NHS hospitals should be an exemplar in the provision of good quality meals for patients, which is why we have led the UK by setting a minimum standard of for hospital food.
“All NHS boards are required to meet and monitor performance against these standards – which includes seeking and taking in to account patient feedback.
“Additionally, from this April, all NHS boards will be required to set out the steps they are taking to achieve compliance with these food standards, by providing documented evidence to support their views.”
