More patients go hungry as 13m meals are thrown away

Last year 2,265 people left hospital lacking basic nourishment, up from 1,381 in 2001.

At the same time, 13million hospital meals were thrown away untouched by patients, a rise of almost a quarter on the year before.

Last night Conservative health spokesman Stephen O'Brien accused the Government of 'turning a blind eye' to the need for tasty and wholesome food in hospitals.

At an average cost of £2.65, wasted meals worth more than £162million have been thrown away by the NHS in the past five years alone, he said.

Official figures released by Health Minister Dawn Primarolo in response to a parliamentary question showed that, despite a Government campaign to improve hospital food, the number of patients leaving hospital malnourished rose by 13 per cent between 2005 and 2006.

Most were already been suffering from malnutrition when they were brought in, but in 2006, 321 patients became malnourished while in hospital. This was more than double the 157 recorded in 2001.

Mr O'Brien said: "These figures are a national embarrassment. They should shame the Labour Government into urgent action. But they won't.

"It adds insult to injury that this scandal has wasted £34,591,000 of taxpayers' money in the last year alone and £162,300,622 in total over the last five years, and at a time when hospital wards and beds are closing across the country because of financial concerns.

"Gordon Brown said the Labour Party would make the NHS a priority. They haven't. Patients deserve better. Nutrition is as important as any other treatment and more cost-effective, tastier and wholesome foods are available, but the Government chooses to turn a blind eye to them."

The Daily Mail's Dignity for the Elderly campaign has highlighted the poor quality of hospital food. And charity Age Concern says lives are being put at risk because nurses do not have time to feed elderly patients properly.

Earlier this year the Government launched a bid to improve the quality of hospital food after junior health minister Ivan Lewis admitted many elderly people were effectively being starved in hospitals.

He said some were given just a single scoop of mash as a meal while others were 'tortured' with trays of food placed just beyond their reach while nurses claimed they were too busy to help them eat.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "Good food is important for all patients, and standards have risen. But we are aware that there are times when this does not happen and this is not acceptable.

"There is no excuse for patients not getting the food they need and any necessary help to eat that food.

"The Department of Health has recognised this as a priority issue. Following on from the Dignity in Care Campaign, NHS Trusts across the country are putting schemes in place to ensure people do not become malnourished in hospital.

"These include introducing protected mealtimes and "red tray" systems for people who are at risk of malnutrition."