Thousands of patient meals 'thrown away' at Shropshire's hospitals

The Campaign for Better Hospital Food said analysis of 159 acute trusts in England showed they each throw away 191,000 meals a year on average.

The group says the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, produced 773,044 meals last year, of which the equivalent of 267,859 went uneaten.

About 43 per cent of food at the trust went to waste last year.

However the trust has now taken steps to reduce the amount of food that is thrown away each day, including buying-in meals rather than producing them on site at Telford.

It also offers soup as an alternative to a full cooked meal.

Chris Fisher, facilities manager for catering services, said: "We have changed the food production at the Princess Royal Hospital and have already seen an increase in patient satisfaction.

"Previously food was prepared in-house, but financial challenges, coupled with rising food prices, meant it was becoming increasingly difficult to provide the standard of menu we wanted to be able to offer our patients.

"As a result we went into partnership to purchase meals from the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which has a very modern central production unit."

Health officials say the partnership means more money goes into ingredients as labour costs are reduced, a larger range of meals are on offer, the quality and standard has improved and patients are able to choose their meals on the day rather than completing a menu the day before.

The trust says this means that patients eat more, aiding their recovery.

A waste reduction plan has also been agreed and is currently being put into place.

The trust is currently in the process of seeking financial approval to introduce the same service at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, with the aim of introducing the measures towards the end of the year.