A well-known nurse, who was hospitalized as a patient, experienced quite a surprise when she looked at her plate. She described everything on her Facebook.
- The nurse who runs the popular Facebook profile, Sister Bożenna, found out for herself how poor meals can be served in the wards
- Now he admits, “everyone should spend a few such days in their ward at least once”, because such an experience “opens the eyes”
- Hospital meals were controlled, among others, by NIK. The conclusions were not optimistic. Underfunding of hospitals, lack of control over catering companies, lack of nutritionist care – such conclusions were presented by the inspectors a few years ago, but similar problems have been present for years
- Some patients try to survive the hospital diet by supplementing it with supplies brought from their homes. Some of them can count on family visits with provisions, but not everyone has such “luxury”
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Pictures of hospital food have already found their way to the web many times, arousing surprise. This time, the nurse running the popular Facebook profile, Sister Bożenna, showed four photos of meals that she received as a patient in the hospital.
A photo of a few slices of pale bread, the only addition of which was a ration of butter, and two slices of sausage, a slice of cheese, a piece of jelly or cottage cheese, was decorated with a longer entry. In addition to describing her experience, she also outlined one of the biggest problems of the Polish health service, i.e. under-financing.
“Recently I had an honor and spent a few days in the hospital as a patient and I will tell you that everyone should spend a few such days in their ward at least once, because nothing opens their eyes like the old proverb: the point of view depends on the point of sitting” – she began her entry Sister Bożenna.
«Nutritional status of 70 percent patients deteriorate »
In principle, hospital food should provide nutritional value and, thanks to its proper balance, help in the recovery process. According to Sister Bożenna, a good diet could make patients recover faster and leave the hospital, which would translate into budget savings. Meanwhile, as the nurse writes, «In Polish hospitals, the nutritional status of 70 percent. patients worsen during hospitalization, on the other hand, what is surprising, since the daily nutritional rate per patient is PLN 6 (in words: six zlotys) ».
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The data on malnutrition presented by Sister Bożenna are confirmed, for example, in the report prepared by EconMed Europe at the request of Nutricia Polska. “Abnormal nutritional status after the end of hospital treatment – assessment of health consequences” of April 2022. According to its estimates, some patients are hospitalized undernourished, and during hospitalization their nutritional status deteriorates. patients ». Importantly, this situation occurs regardless of the specialization of the hospital ward.
Bad nutrition affects both treatment and subsequent convalescence or rehabilitation. One of the effects of malnutrition is impaired immunity, which may lead to more frequent infections and complications such as pressure ulcers, which means that patients have to stay longer in hospital (on average two to three days), or they must be hospitalized again soon . According to the report, the cost of treating a malnourished patient is up to two to three times more than a patient who is properly nourished.
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Sister Bożenna also stated in her entry that the nutritional rate per patient is six zlotys. It is worth clarifying, however, that the feed rate is something other than the cost of a meal. The former covers the costs of employing staff (chefs, drivers), electricity and logistics, and the purchase of food products, i.e. boiler charge. According to the report of the Watchdog Polska Civic Network from 2019. is the value of food products used to prepare all meals for a patient on a given day and ranges between six and eight zlotysand the so-called Boiler input is in many cases one third of the hospital’s expenses to feed its patients.
The quality of hospital food is not well influenced by inflation and its jumps, as we wrote about in Medonet in 2021. The rates for patient nutrition do not change, and hospitals have long-term contracts with food delivery companies and are obligated to fulfill their obligations by providing all-day food for patients for the same amount, although the purchasing power of money has changed.
The amount of the daily allowance is determined by the head of a given medical facility. In the Act on health care services financed from public funds, the nutrition of patients is an accompanying service and is to be adequate to their health condition. According to the 2018 report of the Supreme Audit Office, he is responsible for the poor quality of hospital food no fixed nutritional rate per patient and no regulations on the quality of meals. As it turns out, hospitals are not obliged to employ dietitians and there are no uniform nutritional standards, as there is no ministerial regulation that would specify dietary components, the energy value of meals or standardize the names of diets.
At the end of the entry, Sister Bożenna admitted that many patients, fearing the quality and quantity of food served in hospitals, protect themselves by taking their supplies with them. Some may count on a visit from the family who will bring them food, but not everyone is so lucky, and the alternative in the form of shopping in a hospital café often exceeds the financial capacity of people in the facility.
- Read also: Hospitals plummet. How to make meals for patients for PLN 6 a day?
«Some patients manage to take their supplies with them, the family brings parcels, but what about people for whom there is no one to bring food, and in the hospital café the bun itself costs 6 zlotys? How am I supposed to look into the eyes of a patient who has not eaten anything for 3-4 days, and I give him a slice of bread with jelly for dinner, which from 17 should be enough for him until 8 am? In my opinion, these are the biggest problems of our fallen Healthcare. It is a pity that people will only go out on the street when they switch off “Na Wspólnej” on TV again “- Sister Bożenna bitterly summed up.