The Tasmanian Health Minister, Michelle O’Byrne just doesn’t ‘get it’. She is out of touch.
The staff that keep putting junk food up for ‘charitable’ sale on the ward desks in hospital don’t ‘get it’.
The senior bureaucracy of the hospitals does not ‘get it’.
Kerry Finch, MLC gets it.
The members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council who passed a motion looking at the issue of junk food in hospital last week ‘get it’.
WorkCover Tasmania even ‘gets it’. They have a recommendation that workplaces should provide healthy food options for staff. But the Health Minister leaves it at that. There is no initiative to enact those recommendations yet we, the people, are asking for change.
I want to go to work and find my hospital setting the example of eating healthy.
I want to be able to find something healthy to eat when I am between operating cases at 1 o’clock in the morning.
I am embarrassed for the system when the hospital kiosk is laden with lollies, chocolate, cakes and junk food.
I remain horrified that the hospital wards continue to sell lollies and chocolate directly in the face of patients with the very complications of their food diets.
My call upon the Health Minister is to mandate the introduction of a ‘guaranteed’ 80% healthy food options to be made available from the hospital kiosks and vending machines. It still leaves these outlets to stock the ‘junk’ food and make their profits from ‘empty calories’ and in my mind, toxic material.
The only thing I want ‘banned’ is the direct sale of chocolate and lollies for sometimes ‘dubious’ causes directly in the face of patients. If the staff wants to sell these in the tea room then go for it. Just stop advertising to the community that ‘you’ condone that ‘junk’ food is best practice.
Interesting that the Mercury Newspaper can get a response from Michelle O’Byrne when she is still to reply to my 2 letters of correspondence. She might be waiting for me to go away but that is not likely. Not on this No Brainer.
We need to set a best practice example in the hospitals. Good to see the Royal Hobart Hospital introducing a better menu in the cafeteria as of this week but the vending machines and kiosk are still in the dark ages of ‘junk’ food.
How about the senior leadership get on board right now. You get paid to lead rather than follow.
I am Fully… On… board with your views on junk food sold in hospitals and nursing homes.
I work in Agecare, and see a lot of poor health problems due to a life time of poor eating .
Yet Agecare providers still allow vending machine and promote sweets with the opening of our new sugar shack kiosk.