Are patients underfed? Bellevue denies claims that patients are being undernourished

Already under fire for the treatment of its patients, the management of the Bellevue Hospital has denied claims made by staff members that the patients are being underfed.

An undercover visit to the facility confirmed that the patients were being served what appeared to be inadequate meal portions.

"The food situation has been cut down dramatically. The patients are not getting the amount of food they should. The situation is bad," said a worker with knowledge of what obtains in the hospital's dietary department.

Staff members interviewed by The Sunday Gleaner said the food portions were smaller last year but had been slightly improved this year. However, one worker believed that the cutback is already taking a toll on the patients.

"Some patients are quite meagre," the worker noted.

In addition to reduced portions, the patients have also been contending with the customary late delivery of the meals because the vehicle used to transport meals to the wards is sometimes late in coming off the road. "The meals are usually prepared and waiting; sometimes the patients have to come to the kitchen and beg food. "If the food is to come at 8 a.m., all when it is 9 o'clock the patients just eating, and remember they have to take medication," one Bellevue employee said.

Meanwhile, the hospital's management denied claims from its staff that the patients were being underfed. "We would like to make it clear that the food portion sizes are not being rationed at the facility nor are the portion sizes considered to be unusually small. The patients are getting the appropriate diets based on professional standards," read a section of a written response issued by the South Eastern Regional Health Authority (SERHA).

It continued: "The Bellevue Hospital has a department of nutrition and dietetics with a staff complement of over 35 that deals with patients' dietetic needs. This includes five well-trained dietetic personnel, including a chief dietician."

Medical consultants

The hospital's administration also noted that diet sheets are done at the ward level in collaboration with medical consultants and are submitted to the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics on a daily basis. "This allows the team to prepare the appropriate diet for each patient according to their medical condition and special needs.

"We do not have a challenge in providing adequate meals for our patients, neither from the supply side nor from the production side ... ," the hospital management said.

A state-employed dietician, who viewed the photos taken by The Sunday Gleaner of the meals provided and the dinner menu said the patients' diet does not appear to be ideal or balanced.

"Some areas are lacking and some look insufficient," the dietician who did not wish to be identified said. "It's not meeting the basic caloric requirement of an adult ... especially for a person with special needs who may be diabetic, has cancer or is a patient living with AIDS."

The government expert in nutrition said a patient's health can be compromised if the food portions are not balanced or adequate. "It might affect the absorption of the medication because certain meds require you to be on a special type of diet, for example, a high-calorie diet," the government dietician explained.

- T. R.