BRITAIN.: Top doctor urges end to junk food in hospitals

EDINBURGH (The Scotsman), April 2, 2006: JUNK food and unhealthy snacks must be banned from hospitals in Scotland, a medical expert warned yesterday. Dr Paul MacIntyre, one of the country's leading clinicians specialising in coronary heart disease, demanded that gift shops and canteens should be forced to stop selling "poisonous" fatty meals. He warned that hospitals are sending out the wrong message by putting pies, chips and chocolate on the menu. He has even set up a fruit stall in Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH), Paisley, where he works as a consultant, in a bid to encourage healthy eating among staff and patients. He said: "To me it is just crazy. We are selling poison in our foyers. You cannot be seen as a healthcare industry if you are selling something that is clearly damaging people's health. "People would be surprised if a hospital sold cigarettes. A conscious decision has been made that that is not the correct message to give to patients, staff and relatives. But what hospitals haven't picked up on is that they are serving poor-quality food that is high in saturated fat to patients." MacIntyre added: "We are a health-promoting health service and cannot be seen to be selling produce which is clearly unhealthy. It is intrinsically wrong." The consultant's move comes as Scotland struggles to shake off its "sick man of Europe" image, with soaring levels of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Nearly two-thirds of men (64%) and nearly 60% of women are overweight or obese, according to the latest Scottish Health Survey. MacIntyre, who advises the Executive, claims that poor diet and lack of exercise are the two biggest factors in the country's poor health record. As well as setting up the fruit stall, he is also the driving force behind an initiative which will allow staff in the RAH to use a state-of-the-art gym, originally built for the sole use of cardiac patients. He claims that giving staff the chance to work out in their workplace will improve their health and, in turn, act as a good example to patients. He is urging other health boards to free up funds to roll the system out across Scotland. He said: "If staff are grossly obese how can they give healthy-eating advice to patients? "We should have the opportunity to make physical activity more accessible for staff as well as offering healthy food choices. It is not just about treating patients. If you can reduce the numbers of people suffering from heart disease you reduce the burden on the NHS. "We need to set an example in the health service and practise what we preach." By CAROLYN CHURCHILL