I have been in a clinic and the hospital in Saintes and a convalescent home in Jarnac. The hospital food was horrible. Why can't the French do vegetables properly? Either tinned or so over-cooked as to be practically unrecognisable. (The same goes for restaurants too.) As for the ubiquitous 'purées' -- say no more.
The clinic and convalescent home were marginally better but not much. Some nice meals but strangely unbalanced. In none of the establishments was I ever offered a menu or any choice and never any fruit in the hospital.
I was in the hospital for an intestine related procedure and for about ten days was given a bowl of 'soup' - bouillon with vermicelli - three times a day. No bread, ever, and no proper food. I tried it the first day and that was it. The pasta was slimy and made me gag. Eventually just the smell as I peeled back the plastic madde me feel sick. When I refused it and said I couldn't eat it I didn't get anything else. I was told that was my regime and I had to have it. OK I accept that I needed to pamper my gut until it re-established itself but that microwaved tasteless pap was not the way to do it.
I didn't have visitors to bring food in to me so I virtually starved. I begged them to give me something else but it wasn't forthcoming. I never saw a nutritionist.
I don't drink coffee so I asked for tea. In the clinic I was presented with a cup of hot water and a tea-bag which dared to call itself 'English Breakfast'. It tasted like dust. Stale dust at that. Every time I had to ask for some milk. I know the French don't use milk in tea so that was understandable. Eventually I just drank hot water.
I had learned the lesson from the clinic so when I went into the hospital so I took my own Earl Grey teabags in. I asked for tea. Aha! the same 'Butterfly Brand (never heard of it!) English Breakfast' so out came my own teabags. What?? You want some cold milk?? No madame. Pas possible! We don't have any! OK warm will do thank you. Not very nice in tea. Worse, it tasted of coffee. I assumed that the cup hadn't been washed properly so asked for another. Same thing. Next morning I asked for a cup of hot water in my own mug which I'd also taken in. It still tased of coffee and I realised that the thermos flasks they used to disperse coffee and hot water were interchangeable and/or not washed out thoroughly. So I couldn't even have a drink of hot water.
Considering the amount of tea I normally drink this was real deprivation for me, especially in the morning and it meant that I went the whole time without a hot drink.
I couldn't wait to get home and was quite miserable by this time. I kept asking the surgeon when I could go and he told me I couldn't go until I moved my bowels. I told him there was little chance of that because I wasn't eating anything. When he asked about it and I told him that I normally ate fresh vegetables and well cooked food and that what I was being given was 'dégueulasse' he just laughed but eventually acknowledged that I'd be better off at home. I lost a lot of weight.
I hope I never have to go in again for anything pertaining to digestion. They next time will be to the clinic for a knee replacement so at least I won't have a 'regime' to look forward to and I will go armed with fruit and biscuits!
Hi
I was recently in a French hospital for 4 days. My meals were virtually non existant.
Yoghurt for breakfast - if they remembered me- lunch was compot and coffee and supper , a weird sort of omelette affair. or cold pasta.I received no menu choices and the doctor was shocked when I told him I had had only compots for 2 days!
Needless to say I lost weight.
My son was in hospital for 10 days for a back op. He is vegetarian- oops!! He lived on a diet of mashed potato and apples.
We both speak French so no problem there. We were in different hospitals. My daughter in law had her baby in hospital here and also had awful food. So no change from the UK then!
I spent time in different hospitals and the food varies quite considerably from one to another, in terms of quality, choice and quantity. On the whole it was better than my boarding school!
Both good and bad food in the hospitals I have been in
I did however help nurse a friend on home based palliative care and the hospital dietician created a balance of nutrition and pleasure......for example my friend was craving sugar so we gave him pineapple to curb the cravings but also provide the sugar digesting bromelain as well as the vitamin content
Am off for an op in two weeks in a hospital I haven't been to - will let you know how it goes. I have multiple intolerances so it will be interesting to see what they put on my plate!
A year ago I had to spend a week "inside" after a minor op. The food was much better than my experience 18 years ago in Grenoble. We each had a carafe of tap water next to the bed, one hot drink for breakfast, and there were no afternoon snacks. The bread was good, and the variety of dishes offered over the week was reasonable, balanced and quite tasty. I appreciated the fresh fruit and yoghurts particularly.
I wonder how much input there is from dietitians at schools though. At my daughter's lycée they supply food that sounds good, but is so badly prepared that it goes into the bins. Everything seems to be smothered in sauces that, according to her, are not very good. I'm also surprised that in a secular country the "fish on Friday" rule seems to be observed.
You have my sympathy.The vegetarian food at the Hopital Nord in La Tronche, Grenoble, was so bad 18 years ago, that three years later my daughter was born at home. This is still quite unusual in France, but there are independent midwives who can give you a home delivery. At the hospital I got my husband to bring food in. At home the food was fab, and the midwife had dinner with us.
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I did a 4-day maternity stay in Agen & it's true that they don't give breastfeeding mothers enough food. I ate everything they gave me and still needed more. Most of the food was pretty bland, but alright. The fruit, bread, cheese and yoghurt with every meal was welcomed. I can't recall exactly what was on the menu, but someone else's comment about it all being "white" pretty much summarises my memory of the food. I recall there was something on the menu I had no interest in whatsoever and they were happy to let me swap it for something else they were offering that week. They always checked at each meal if I was happy with the next meal that was to come, so that was good. The only surprise was the first one.
Oh, and I heartily agree with the lack of liquid. I asked for bottles of water each day (which I paid for later) and that got me through.
I had a 24 hour stay in the Polyclinique in Macon. I totally agree with Suzanne about the wishy washy soup and the lack of breaking the day with drinks. I had mussels with loads of vegetables, which was ok by me, but obviously not to everyone’s taste or ability to eat. I wasn’t asked if I had any shellfish allergy and I suspect that if I couldn’t eat it, there was no ready alternative.
The first thing I did when I came home was to have a decent cup of coffee!
My dad has had a while in a clinic recently in Dept 24. He is a very bad coeliac (gluten allergy) and was given bread with a lot of his meals. The catering is subcontracted, but you would think after a month or more they would sort it. A dried up piec of fish with a bit of rice and no sauce is not doing anyone any good. Grrr.
We've both been in hospital in Poitiers, Bordeaux and Perigueux and have found all three to be wanting.
I was in Poitiers hospital at Christmas time on the 10th floor and it seemed by the time the trolley reached us they had more or less run out of meals and were given the dregs, too disgusting to eat. From there I was moved to the paediatric ward and it improved greatly.
Still Australia is just as ghastly. My dear husband who was in the cardiac ward and had been desperately ill was given a sandwich which when he took the top off, found maggots crawling over the meat.
I have never understood why food seems to be the last thing hospitals are concerned about. When you are in hospital for a long period meal time is something you should look forward to and not dread. No wonder it seems the practice is for a family member to bring in a meal every day. I am gearing myself up for this as my husband is due to have an operation very soon.
My neighbour was badly hurt in a road accident and went into Addenbrookes, 'flagship' of the hospital group you, errr enjoyed? I had not been in a hospital since childhood as a patient or visitor. I imagined the good old bowl of fruit would be beside the bed. That family being strict vegetarians, I made up a bag of carefully selected fruit from the market and went off to visit him. There was no bowl as of old, so my OH and I arranged a towel as a container. A nurse came in and said something angry, disappeared, then returned putting on plastic medical gloves and simply began to put the fruit into a rubbish bag. We protested and my OH even added something about theft of private property. The nurse simply said 'Not permitted' but backed down and gave us the bag with the instruction not to give him anything from it. It might bring infection into the hospital, blah, blah, blah. I sarcastically remarked that I would encase myself in a plastic bag and not breath next visit. The three of us laughed, she went off in a huff. Needless to say, the bag of fruit then went under his covers and he did manage to eat it all but had to throw apple cores, orange peel and so on out of the window!
Husband was in hospital on various occasions, both for chemotherapy and for the results of this, and the food was diabolical. He was given nothing but french bread for breakfast - with a mouth and throat full of ulcers - plus they couldn't boil the water to make tea. Lunches were mash (instant) with occasionally some fish or chicken, and green beans and compote and yogurt plus the ubiquitous french bread He lost weight with the cancer and even more so with the fact that in five weeks he ate nothing except what I took in for him.
From what I remember of hospital food, there is not much to choose between them, but I would prefer English hospital food as at least it was my own diet!
I had a couple of days at a small clinic near Toulouse.
Okay I was going in for gall bladder surgery, but even so - the food was "white". Cold pasta with no sauce, apple compot, yoghourt blanc, cold white rice in a white sauce - you begin to get the picture. I thought the food would be delicious but I ate practically nothing. When OH was in for day surgery it was similar - all pre-packaged airline food.
So good luck with your efforts - in our experience much needed.
(When OH was in hospital in England for major brain surgery I always brought fresh homemade food to the ward - no problem! Next time I'll do that here, too - wonder what they'll make of Suffolk hotpot and sticky toffee pudding!)
These last few years, I have been in and out of both English and French hospitals. When in Papworth for a heart operation, the treatment was perfect but the food.? A nurse put me down for chicken salad for lunch. Overcooked drumstick,, limp salad et al. My wife came to see me in the afternoon and also bought me a chicken salad. No comparison. It took me two goes at finishing it but it was delicious.
Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon. Didn't even consider the food. Wife brought me a ham salad sandwich with ham from a joint, not the gossamer slices they have in France. The nurse threatened to confiscate it and when I explained that it contained all the nutrients I need, she said that she was aware of that but wanted to eat it herself.
Suffered kidney failure when we went to our daughter's wedding in England. Stamford, Peterborough and Leicester - food inedible, no cheese, no fresh fruit, no full cream milk with my corn flakes.
Angouleme, Poitiers and St Junien - no appetite so I didn't eat.
Confolens, first time round the food was excellent, my wife helping me to finish the meal when I wasn't that hungry. Second time round, disgusting.
Care Home, Brillac - Excellent but not always to my taste. The fetes meal before Xmas was superb even the bread was fantastic.
Hospital food is international - no-one can do anything better because of the quantities involved. I am due to go into Angouleme again soon. I think I'll treat myself to a picnic hamper.
Today I wouldn't even go into an English hospital because they would have me on that Liverpool thing as soon as you like.
l'anglais de Brillac.
Shouldn't be any Steve. When I had the fruit and mineral water arriving and told them to not even put the tray down for any of the three 'meals' after looking at what was on it, I overtly reached for my supplies and if my room mate ate what they gave him was simply matching meal times. In point of fact, of the three room mates I had over the two longer spells, one had his wife turn up with bread, cheese, paté and sausage every morning, plus a thermos of real coffee that he hid from view of disapproving nurses. He picked a few bits off the trays, often cake type things. So I think it is common practice.
I’ve been in Yves le Foll hospital in St Brieuc several times and Clinic du Littoral, also in St Brieuc once, over the last three years. I found no noticeable difference in the food between the two establishments.
Breakfast was a slice of baguette, pat of butter and maybe a sachet of jam. Boiling water for a tea bag was lukewarm. Coffee or chocolate were a better bet but not what I wanted. The ubiquitous yoghurt or milk product for every meal and mid morning and afternoon snack – I am lactose intolerant but they still served me this every day.
Lunch and dinner consisted of dishwater soup with no flavour – when I asked what the soup was the answer was always “vegetable”. Overcooked vegetables, no knife necessary, grey fish in an indescribable sauce, a piece of fruit inevitable yoghurt, small packet of cheese with two biscuits or slice of baguette – pretty much the only edible items. When the tray – still full – is collected they ask “not hungry then?” I just say “yes I’m hungry, just can’t eat this food”. It produces no reaction so must be a common reply.
A visitor brought me a banana. I left the skin on the breakfast tray and it almost caused a riot. Where did I get the banana? It wasn’t on my diet sheet. Had I eaten it? Why did I eat it when it wasn’t on my diet sheet. It was about the only thing I did eat. I longed for another one to stop my feelings of hunger.
The last time I was in for a leg vein op in November I took in – hidden – bananas, an airtight box of plain biscuits, and two small tins of paté to spread on my stale baguette slices.
The food was a nightmare, just as it was the last time I was hospitalized in the UK. The usual amount of time I’ve spent in one visit is about 5-7 days. What it must be like for a long term inmate I dread to think.
the food in Carcassonne hostpital is terrible and don't ever eat in the staff / visitor restaurant.
Every day when I visited my wife I either took food in or I am ashamed to say, bought some junk food.
Post surgery I feel one needs to have something nice to encourage appetite but the food was bland and tasteless.
I am aware that nutritional values are important but I doubt the food we experienced last year fulfilled that criterion either. I must say that of course the medical care was superb.
How much fuss would there be if the OH brought food along?
I had a week in Chateauroux. The food was absolutely revolting. It was so bad that my room mate and I would thank the nurses politely when the food arrived and as soon as the door closed we would lift the lid on what had arrived and laugh uncontrollably. It was beyond inedible. It always seemed to be some part of a turkey we had never seen before with no flavour and a few cold haricots verts to go with it. We used to gnaw on the hard green pears which formed dessert as our only nutrition. I came out half a stone lighter.
Only had two short stays in hospital in France, one in a private Clinique, the other in a huge CHU. Didn't much like the actual food in either. Nice to be given a choice of menu, and when it came it was well presented with all the usual French courtesies. They couldn't do much with a packet of cheese, a bread roll, or a yoghurt, but the soup.... just like many times diluted dishwater, the veg grossly overcooked, the mashed potato like runny polystyrene, the steak hache, and chicken absolutely tasteless. Need I say more! I understand the needs to provide a balanced nutritional meal, but I do like dishes which taste as they should taste, with or without salt, and in neither case was I satisfied with what was provided. The contrast for me was a lunch taken recently in a family run restaurant, where for 12 euros we had a large pot of extremely tasty soup, a small helping of endives wrapped in ham with a cheese sauce, a delicious quarter of chicken with a mash made up of potato, cauliflower and cheese sauce, followed by a large dish of several cheeses, and a tarte au pomme. We were a party of twelve and everyone agreed, satisfying, tasty and excellent value.