Patients finding the menu at newly-opened Royal Adelaide Hospital not to their expectations

PATIENTS have told The Advertiser of the “disgusting” meals they are being served at the $2.3 billion hospital — and the pictures aren’t appetising. Share your experiences of the hospital’s food.

In June, the Sunday Mailtaste team of dietitian Georgina Rassias, Advertiser food critic Simon Wilkinson, nurse Catherine Davy and health reporter Katrina Stokes tested dishes such as carrots and zucchini slice, szechuan beef stir-fry and ricotta cheese ravioli with spinach and alfredo sauce.

• Before opening: Sunday Mail’s exclusive tests the new RAH menu
• Special report: Introducing the new RAH

DRY meat and rice, stale cheese sandwiches and cereal delivered with no milk or spoon are just some of the delicacies being dished up to patients at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, some patients say.

They have told The Advertiser of the “disgusting” meals they are being served at the $2.3 billion hospital since it opened on September 5, while others insist the food is “delicious”.

Acknowledging that patient meal experiences have varied wildly, SA Health has admitted it has employed food safety specialists to improve food quality.

One person described their meal as “looking like something their dog threw up that morning”.

WHAT WAS PROMISED AND WHAT’S BEING DISHED OUT

Carrots and zucchini slice, as presented to our testing panel in June.

There are mixed views on the offering. Picture: Leon Byner/5AA

“The doctor and dietitian were mortified (by the food) ... it (the meat) looked like bark chips — I was calling it chicken jerky,” a patient, who has been treated at the RAH for several weeks, told The Advertiser.

“One night I got sent just a lid, then at about 10pm this plate of cold meat and rice got sent down, then I was offered two chunks of cheese because that was all they could find.”

Szechuan beef stir-fry, as presented to our testers in June.

That’s not Sichuan beef stir-fry. Picture: Supplied / Facebook

The patient said she believed the quality of the food was “slowing recovery down”.

“I probably could have gone home a couple of days ago,” she said.

Comments about RAH meals on The Advertiser’s Facebook page have been mixed.

“(The food is) not as tasty, smaller and there is less variety (than the old RAH),” one man commented.

“I was admitted to emergency at 9am and got to a ward at 4pm. When tea came (there was) no food. I complained and got a stale cheese sandwich (so) I got the kids to go and get food,” one said.

Ricotta cheese ravioli with spinach and Alfredo sauce, as presented in June.

That seems to be a very dry offering. Picture: Supplied / Facebook.

Another said, “when you got to know staff, they would sneak you an extra bit of cake.”

Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive officer Jenny Richter said the Health Department had been working closely with food contractor, Spotless, to “improve the quality of meals” and meal delivery times.

“(We have) engaged a quality assurance specialist and a food safety specialist to manage end-to-end food production standards, as well as increasing quality checks on the plating line to ensure meal accuracy,” she said.

About 600 to 700 meals — including about 70 meal choices to suit dietary requirements — are served at the RAH every day, as well as a range of sandwiches and other snacks.