Trust running West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket Hospital disappointed by food rating
Food provided to patients at West Suffolk Hospital has been rated amongst the worst in England in an NHS survey.
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Newmarket Hospital, was ranked the fourth worst in the patient led assessments of the care environment, which were carried out in October 2022.
Craig Black, executive director of the trust, said: "We are disappointed by our results and we apologise to any patients who did not receive the quality of service they deserved."
He continued: "We know that being in hospital is difficult for patients and their families, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make their stay as comfortable as possible.
"On the day of the assessment, we were under significant pressure which meant some patients did not receive their food as quickly as we would have liked.
"While we have been noted as an exemplar in the standard of food we provide, we know that during periods of significant pressure we need to do better in delivering it to patients."
"We are using the feedback provided to improve how we cater for our patients across our hospitals."
The trust said on the day of the assessment, West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds was working through a critical internal incident, meaning their focus was placed on ensuring the flow of patients through the hospital.
Whilst the assessment was being carried out at Newmarket Community Hospital the dishwasher was broken and patients were served food on paper plates - contributing to the score they were given.
Overall the food at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was given a 74.56 per cent satisfaction rating.
This compares to Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which was given the worst rating of 71.67 per cent.
The Bupa Group topped the list of best hospital food providers with a 100 per cent satisfaction rating, coming second was The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, which had a rating of 99.03 per cent.
