1. For the most recent three financial years (10/11), (11/12) and (12/13) please state what the cost of providing food to patients was at your trust per patient per day?

2010/11 £3.67

2011/12  £3.90

2012/13 £3.50

1. If you have a figure please state what percentage of food in the most recent financial year (12/13) was returned untouched by patients?

The average  percentage returned  of untouched meals for all three hospitals was 12%  in 2002/13.

1. If you have an outside caterer that is responsible for supplying food to the Trust, please state the name of the company and how much it was paid by the Trust in (12/13)? Also state what level of involvement these outside caterers have? For example do they just provide the hospital with ready meals that are then distributed by Trust staff or are the caterers responsible for providing and serving the food?

The catering for patient meals is an in-house service that is provided by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.

1. In the 2013 calendar year please state how many complaints you logged from patients, or their relatives or friends, or hospital staff where either the primary concern, or a secondary concern related to the provision and/or quality of the patient food?

6 complaints were received regarding the quality of the food in the year 2013.

1. In relation to Q.4, which month saw you have the most complaints about food and how many complaints were logged?

In September two complaints were logged.

1. For the month identified by Q.5 (if more than one month has the same number of complaints then take the most recent month) please provide me with redacted copies of the complaints so to not breach S.40 of the Freedom of Information Act, but include the name of the hospital involved. If the original correspondence has been destroyed then please provide me with a detailed (two sentence) summary explaining the specific nature of the complaint, including the name of the hospital.

Poor environment of ward and the toast was cold.

Delays in surgery, patient unhappy with the quality of the food whilst an inpatient

1. In the last financial year (12/13) has the Trust paid compensation to a patient or their family following a complaint about the provision/quality of hospital food? If so how much was paid and why was it paid? Have any complaints about hospital food been referred to the NHSLA.

None