Subject: DOH:HEALTH MINISTER JOINS TOP CHEF TO TASTE-TEST HOSPITAL FOOD

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
2004/0139                                                         13 April 2004 
HEALTH MINISTER JOINS TOP CHEF TO TASTE-TEST HOSPITAL FOOD

Health Minister, Lord Warner joined forces with celebrity chef, Lloyd Grossman, today, to choose which dishes should appear on hospital menus across England as part of the Better Hospital Food programme.

Lord Warner and Lloyd Grossman will be part of a panel of culinary experts and patient representatives checking that meals - ranging from sweet and sour chicken to Lancashire hotpot - are of a high enough standard to be served to patients.

Lord Warner said:
"Better and varied hospital food is a key part of improving the patient experience. We have seen real progress in the quality of hospital meals as a result of the Better Hospital Food programme. Loyd Grossman has played a big role in this.  Today's event is another milestone in ensuring that good food is one of the hallmarks of a good NHS hospital".

Lloyd Grossman said:
"Since the launch of the Better Hospital Food programme, we have been working hard with the manufacturers of delivered meals to ensure both the quality and consistency of their products. Ensuring patient nutrition is a crucial component of healthcare, and making sure the food provided looks and tastes good is an important part of the process. Today's event is an excellent opportunity to check that the standards we require from hospital food are being achieved and maintained".

Notes to Editors:

1. The NHS currently spends around £500m each year on food, and the scale of its catering services is enormous. Over 300 million meals are served each year, in more than 300 NHS Trusts across approximately 1,200 hospitals.

2. The event took place at St Thomas' Hospital, London.

3. Media enquiries only to Vicky Wyatt on 020 7210 5656.



--------------------------------------------------------------------

GNNREF: 93103


Issued by : DOH Press Office 

Contact : 

If you have any queries relating to this press release, please forward this e-mail to the Press Office e-mail address provided above, or alternatively contact the originating Press Office by 
telephone. (Media queries only)

Please DO NOT attempt to reply to the sender of this e-mail.

The sender is involved solely as a broadcasting agent and cannot 
process e-mailed queries.

Any attached files with a .DOC extension should be read using a word processor capable of reading Word 97 files.  If you believe that the originating body is sending you Word 2000 files that you are not yet capable of reading, ask them to save future files in an earlier version.