Mum, 50, slams ‘shocking’ ham salad at Devon hospital where Boris dished out ‘posh’ version
A HOSPITAL patient has blasted NHS food after ordering a ham salad she saw being given to Boris Johnson on TV - only to be given a “duff one”.
Shirley Maldini, 50, fancied the dish after seeing the PM on the TV news serve one to a patient at Torbay Hospital in Devon.
The mum-of-one was due to be admitted the next day to the same hospital near Torquay.
However she was left green with envy after getting an “inferior” salad rather than the one dished out by BoJo.
Mediator Shirley, from Torquay, said: “I saw the ham salad and it looked really appetising. It was really nicely laid out and I really fancied a change.
"I’d been in hospital quite a bit recently and I’d had enough of the usual fare like shepherd’s pie.
"But I was shocked when it came – It looked nothing like Boris’ salad.
“There was a handful of lettuce and just a couple of bits of cucumber, a couple of bits of tomato. It did taste OK but it was not presented very well unlike the one Boris gave her.
"I complained and they said Boris’ salad had been staged to look like that.
“Everyone else got the duff ones.”
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The married former care worker was in hospital with a bad back caused by steroids which she has to take for auto-immune Vasculitis disease.
The Prime Minister served the ham salad to patient Wenona Pappin, 70, during his hospital visit last month.
He told her: “Good afternoon, this is your lunch, I’m Boris.”
The PM added: “Is that really what you want? You don’t want fish and chips?”
On the same day he appointed Great British Bake Off presenter Prue Leith to advise a government review into hospital food.
Boris said: “We get too many complaints from patients about the quality of the food and I think it does affect their experience when they are in hospital.”
A Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We pride ourselves on the quality of our food which is prepared and cooked in-house in Torbay Hospital.
“The meal handed out by the Prime Minister during his visit to Torbay Hospital is a typical high quality example of how salads are usually presented to patients.
“We always encourage our patients to provide feedback on our catering and will share this patient’s comments with our Feedback and Engagement Team as well as our catering staff.
“Our menus are designed to be as healthy as possible and meet the nutritional needs of our patients.
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"We offer a wide choice of freshly cooked foods and salads sourced from local suppliers, wherever possible, and patients can choose to add extras to their dishes should they wish.
“Dishes do vary from day to day depending on the availability of fresh ingredients and a variation between suppliers.
"The presentation of a dish will also vary because, for example, the salads are assembled on wards to ensure ingredients are as fresh as possible. Therefore, different staff on shift patterns will also be preparing and serving the food.”
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