8 October 2019

DHB candidate to ‘rip up’ useless food policy that doesn’t apply to patients

Capital & Coast District Health Board candidate, Letitia Isa, will rip up the DHB’s useless ‘food policy’ that does not apply to patients in its own care and where “no information is collected” on the cost, dietary value and quality of inpatient food provision.

“Putting Coke back onto shelves is more honest than the DHB’s virtue-signalling Food Policy, which excludes patient food; the very people it ought to apply to,” says Letitia Isa, an Independent Candidate for the Capital & Coast District Health Boards.

“Among the hifalutin words of this Food Policy, also shared by Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHB’s, are these gems: “this policy excludes patient meal services” and “While healthy options are always encouraged, this guideline excludes: Meals for patients…”

“In other words the food policy is a sham. I know this for a fact and I am willing to share that with the media. Look, the 12.48 dieticians at Capital & Coast don’t even control of what comes out kitchens of Australia’s Spotless Group.

“While the DHB refuses to disclose the per meal cost as it would supposedly “prejudice the commercial position” of Spotless, I know that between 2014/15 and 2016/17, the Capital & Coast DHB paid them $57.9 million for food and cleaning; $19.3 million a year.

“Someone like Sue Kedgley, who has been on the DHB Board longer than the duration of WW2, never once mentioned in any meeting that she’d waved through in 2015/16 that Spotless “successfully renewed and extended services at a number of District Health Board (DHB) contracts in New Zealand, including Capital & Coast DHB.”

“Those words are drawn from Spotless’ 2015/16 Annual report. All patients and families have to show from the so-called Food Policy at the Wellington Region’s three DHB’s are an unenforceable Coke-ban and shoddy patient food.

“Where baked beans, tomato sauce and hash browns is a staple, regular dinner for children.

“With Capital and Coast DHB I am committed to bring a fundamental service like patient food, back in-house when the Spotless contract expires. That’s doing as we say instead of empty virtue signalling that the Food Policy represents,” Letitia said.

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