asked the Minister for Health whether he has recently received complaints regarding the quality and service of food in St. Kevin's Hospital, Dublin; and what action he has taken in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - St. Kevin's Hospital, Dublin.
2.
I received a complaint in July last concerning the quality and service of food in St. Kevin's Hospital. It alleged that
(a) dinners were served cold and burned up;
(b) the bread was not eaten;
(c) patients were forced to provide their own food;
(d) all dinners served in Hospital 5 on 26th July last were returned uneaten;
and it requested that clean and qualified personnel should be employed to cook.
I directed that the Dublin Health Authority be asked to investigate and furnish a report on these allegations. A thorough investigation was made by officers of the Health Authority and the report subsequently submitted to me stated that:
(a) Meals leave the kitchen hot, the food boxes having been given a booster heat in steamers and, as the time in the transit of the trolleys to the wards has been reduced to a minimum, there is no question of dinners being served cold and burned up.
(b) Bread is wrapped, sliced and delivered fresh daily by a reputable firm.
(c) There is no evidence that patients are forced to provide food for themselves but some visitors bring in food on visiting days regardless of the quality of the food served; this practice has been discouraged for a long time.
(d) The investigation showed that no dinner was returned on 26th July.
The supervisory staff in charge of cooking arrangements at St. Kevin's includes a catering superintendent and two assistant superintendents. The superintendent and one of the latter are qualified dieticians.
I might add that I am advised by my Chief Medical Adviser that when he visited the kitchen serving Hospital 5 some time previously he saw the preparation and dispatch of a meal and was impressed by the work of the chef and his assistants; the food was excellent, the equipment was good and the kitchen was spotlessly clean.