Hospitals serve fry-ups to their heart patients

Hospitals are fuelling obesity and heart problems by serving up "junk food", a top doctor warned today.

Cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra revealed some NHS trusts were even offering fry-ups - along with pasties and burgers - to patients who had suffered heart attacks.

Dr Malhotra, who works at the world-renowned Harefield heart hospital, believes ward menus are not setting patients a good example. He has now met chef Jamie Oliver and asked him to help improve nutrition standards in hospitals, just as he did for schools.

The doctor claimed urgent action was needed. He said: "I'm shocked and demoralised by the situation, especially as I see the end result of patients coming in with heart attacks.

"There's this paradox where we're trying to save lives, yet patients are being served unhealthy food. Hospitals should be temples to good health, especially as the obesity epidemic is at such a degree that it could bankrupt the NHS. It's not doing patients any good. If hospitals can't set standards then how can we do this in the community?"

There has been a catalogue of attempts by governments over the past decade to improve hospital food, yet a record 13,500 patients still ended up malnourished during their hospital stay last year, according to figures from the NHS Information Centre.

Some NHS trusts have attempted to source healthy food from local suppliers. The Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals cook all fresh food on the premises and say using small, local suppliers does not increase costs.

This contrasts with Addenbrooke's, the cardiac hospital in Cambridge, which has a Burger King on site.

Dr Malhotra called for vending machines selling chocolate, crisps and other unhealthy foods to be banned from hospital grounds, and for ministers to draw up strict nutritional standards that all NHS trusts must follow.

There are no strict rules governing the type of food served in the NHS.