Cutting back on hospital food a ‘false economy’

Hospital food cutbacks are a “false economy” which risk making people sicker, increasing overcrowding and costing the State yet more money in lost work days.

Dr Dan McCartney, human nutrition lecturer at Dublin Institute of Technology and Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute expert, said the ongoing push to save money could have had the potential to cause more problems than they solved.

Figures revealed in today’s Irish Examiner show three in four public hospitals are spending less on patient food than the price of a €3.90 McDonald’s Happy Meal.