The Intolerant Gourmand - SURVEY - Allergies & Eating in Hospital

Why is it so hard to feed your child in hospital when allergies are involved? It’s a question many of you ask on a daily basis!

Callum in hospital, requiring a nebuliser to regulate his breathing, sat on a hosital bed, looking at me, with the sun shining on him. www.intolerantgourmand.com

Whilst you’ve all been talking, I’ve been listening to your struggles and quietly working behind the scenes to attempt to make allergies better understood.

One of the biggest battles you all face, myself included, is food provisions whilst in hospital.

Free from simply ISN’T catered for very well, or even at all in hospitals. In fact, the last time Callum was admitted, the ONLY thing he could have was a dry jacket potato as nothing else was safe or catered for his needs. Even basic gluten-free options can be tricky to get hold of.

It means that many of us have to rely on the mercy of family and friends to bring safe alternatives in to us. And this includes dairy-free milk, gluten-free options and more.

But what if this could be changed? What if the free from catering in hospitals could be improved?

I’m in the process of trying to prove that this is much needed to the very people who can make a difference, but in order to do this, I really need your help!

I’ve created a form to document just how widespread this issue is, and as a thank you for filling it out, everyone who completes the form will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 M&S voucher. It's my way of showing appreciation for helping me really showcase the current situation, and the need for change.

Please can I ask that you share this far and wide so as many people as possible can have their say, and so real and positive change can be driven.

The survey will run until 27th March 2019, and the winner of the prize draw will be contact on 28th March 2019.

Thank you all for your help with this, together we CAN and we WILL drive positive and continued change!

Simply click here

Comments

0 # dan Adkinson 2019-03-17 09:49

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote | Report to administrator

0 # Sarah 2019-03-17 13:31

Being dairy free in hospital just after giving birth was very challenging and distressing. It's a time when you need to eat and regain strength and yet no dairy free options were available. When accidentally eating dairy makes you poorly it's very stressful trying to choose food in hospital, somewhere that's supposed to make you well.

0 # Lynne Hurson 2019-03-17 22:17

We desperately need food intolerance and allergy options available

0 # Seren Harbon 2019-03-18 13:00

Really appreciate you raising awareness of this. Constantly have to rely on packing food before I go into hospital as it's so rare that they ever have a decent free-from option if any!

I have found that Morrisons and Waitrose seem to have the most free-from options. Asda's frozen section is absolutely appalling. It's fine if you only have one allergy but if you have 2 you're on your own.

0 # Bina Chohan 2019-03-18 20:58

Hi,

This is a fantastic idea, completely agree that a major change in hospitals is required to cater for food allergies.

I can’t access the survey through the link. Is there another way to access it?

0 # Allison 2019-03-19 21:31

After I had my son I was in hospital for a few days. Having a milk allergy was a nightmare, dry toast, black coffee, no idea what was in meals, so eating chips and dry bread, all the while I was breastfeeding and drained of energy! Fair play in raising this issue.

0 # Fiona jk42 2019-03-22 16:42

I am allergic to milk so found hospital meal times very frustrating. I'm vegetarian (by choice) and vegetarian offerings seemed to contain lots of cream, cheese and milk, as if the hospital caterers were fixated on dairy as being the only "substitute" for animal protein. At breakfast had to eat cereal with either water or juice as non-dairy milk not available. Lunch and dinner I often ate plain boiled vegetables and potatoes.

Refresh comments list
RSS feed for comments to this post