BOLTON is spending less on feeding its hospital patients than many hospitals in England, new figures have revealed.

Figures provided by a national body which collects and publishes data from NHS Trusts on behalf of the Department of Health have shown an increase in the average cost of feeding one patient for one day.

The data showed in 2011/12 the average cost nationally was £8.77, compared to £10.98 over 2015 to 2016. Meanwhile last year the national average was £10.20.

However in the Bolton NHS Trust, a patient is currently being fed for £7.51 a day, and £7.86 the year before, compared to £5.31 back in 2011/12.

Back in 2011 to 2012 the Bolton costs were £1,633,308 with 809,061 patients signing up for meals, but last year £1,584,560 was spent and just 755,550 patients served.

Over the past year only 715,035 patients requested food and the service spent £1,848.604.

Despite the lower than average spend Royal Bolton Hospital was rated highly for food and cleanliness in this year’s Patient-led Assessment of the Care Environment (PLACE).

The hospital scored 93.16 per cent for food, while the mental health facilities scored 87.58 per cent for food.

The inspection teams included members of the public and in a report to the Department of Health on the Royal Bolton Hospital, the assessors described the food service as “excellent”.

A spokesperson from Bolton NHS Trust added: “We aim to provide good food options for our patients, while still providing value for money to the trust.”

Neighbouring trusts also fell below average on the amount spent feeding a patient with a daily cost of just £5.24 in Salford Royal, £6.91 in Stockport and £8.02 at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh. Meanwhile Central Manchester University spends £11.08 with costs of £5,612,237.

The data is contained in the Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC) from NHS trusts. The ERIC data also provided figures on safety from the trust. Bolton reported 159 incidents, including ones on the grounds of the trust’s facilities.

A spokesman added: “In 15/16 our ERIC returns showed that 147 estates and facilities related incidents had been recorded at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

“The trust operates from some older buildings which require ongoing maintenance, which contributes to incidents of this type. We have received funding to address our historic maintenance backlog and invest in improving the patient environment.“As part of the Trust’s Estates Strategy we are implementing a number of schemes to improve the service that we offer to our patients, staff and visitors, which will be completed within the next three years.”

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