Old recipes released to mark 60th anniversary of NHS

HOSPITAL food has always had a reputation for being unappetising but today's patients should at least be grateful calves' heads are no longer on the menu.

Staff are also unlikely to find themselves on their hands and knees tending vegetable plots to supplement their rations in the hospital garden.

However, that was the norm in the Capital in 1948, according to old recipes released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS.

While today's dieticians are employed to devise nourishing menus, coping with rationing was the biggest challenge nutritionists faced working in the newly formed health service in the 1940s.

Kippers, tripe, sweetbreads and twice-boiled cabbage were staples of the patients' menu.

Not everything has changed, as porridge is still a popular breakfast option. And the Royal Edinburgh Hospital has even begun growing vegetables again – but as a form of therapy for patients.

Christine Johnson, dietetic manager at the Western General Hospital, has seen many changes in her 37-year career.

She said: "In 1948 they would still be on the national diet because of rationing. It was all very carefully worked out to provide at least the minimum nutrition required. There were some ways round it, and many hospitals had their own vegetable gardens.

"You occasionally find old textbooks – they had a great fondness for baked fish and overcooked vegetables. One recipe I saw was boil the cabbage, then change the water and boil it again.

"I think it was fairly healthy, but they didn't have much choice."

She said diabetics were given rations of cheese and eggs, which would "horrify" today's experts. She added: "Some of the changes have been to suit people's taste. People are now eating much more of a variety of food and things like curries have appeared."

One big difference is most 1940s hospitals cooked all the food on the premises. The Western General still prepares food on site, but the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Royal Victoria Hospital bring in frozen food to reheat.

NHS Lothian now employs around 80 dieticians, who ensure that each patient is given an appropriate diet.

Ms Johnson said: "Diet is very important. It should be a top priority. It's been proven that malnutrition is a cause of longer stays in hospital."

Her colleague Sheena Douglas, a senior dietician, said the type of patients they treated had also changed: "Type 2 diabetes is on the increase now and there's been a big increase in obesity. We have to look at people's diet history and work on how to modify it."

THE MENUS THEN AND NOW

1948
• Breakfast: porridge or kippers
• Lunch and dinner: mutton pie, creamed calves' heads or baked rabbit with cabbage, swede and mashed potato, followed by baked rice and melba sauce. There was fish on Fridays out of respect for Catholic patients.

Nurses served the food and Sisters assessed portion size depending on the needs of the patient.

2008
• Breakfast: cereal, toast or porridge
• Lunch: chilli or curry.
• Two-course supper: choices from omelettes, lasagne or various casseroles along with freshly made soups and a range of desserts.

Chefs prepare the food daily in professional, large-scale kitchens, using locally sourced, fresh ingredients.


Bevan statue plan for anniversary tribute

A STATUE of Aneurin Bevan, the architect of the National Healt Service, is to be built in Midlothian as part of a series of events marking its 60th anniversary.

The £8000 statue will go up next to mining leader Mick McGahey and has been commissioned by the public sector union Unison.

Lothian Health Branch has contracted Andrew McFetters – the sculptor who produced the statue of McGahey – to produce the Bevan model and the two working-class leaders will sit side-by-side in George V Park, in Bonnyrigg.

A union spokesman said: "It is entirely appropriate that the founder of the NHS will sit next to an important workers' leader.

"The NHS was created to provide free care for all who needed it, and stopped the crime of working people being unable to afford vital healthcare."

The statue will be worked on over the summer and is due to be unveiled later this year.

• www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk