A disabled teen was given four slices of white bread and two single portions of margarine for lunch while recovering in Dunedin Hospital.

Jodie Acklin is angry over lunches served to her 17-year-old disabled son, since he was admitted to Dunedin Hospital on Wednesday, June 29.

"There are people that can't or won't speak up, but I'm aware of other patients served up the same crap – just bread and margarine."

Supplied Lunch menu at Dunedin Hospital for a physically disabled teen.

Following surgery a sandwich was ordered for her son to have on Friday lunchtime.

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And that lunch?

Four slices of white sandwich bread, and two small single serves of margarine, Acklin said.

"When you say sandwich you expect to have something in it."

The next day he ordered a ham and salad sandwich, but with no tomato.

Instead he received two slices of white bread containing a single "limp" lettuce leaf, and no ham.

For Sunday's lunch he had ordered a chicken and mayo sandwich, but instead received a beef curry.

"It looked like someone had had a bad bout of diarrhoea . . . it was absolutely disgusting.

"I told him he wouldn't be eating it, and that I wouldn't even feed that to our dogs."

She had no issues with breakfast or dinners served to her son, nor the "fantastic" staff.

But there was clearly an issue with lunches at the hospital, she said.

Lauren Scott, Compass Group national innovation and development manager, said the matter was investigated and it was found errors had been "made when the patient's specific meal choices were taken".

"The patient ordered sandwiches with certain ingredients excluded, and the errors have meant that ingredients were incorrectly excluded."

The company, which received no other feedback on the issue, has apologised to Acklin.

"We have informed our food service team and will be taking the opportunity to provide further training as required."

Scott said a recent patient satisfaction survey showed that 85 per cent of patients rated their meals as satisfactory, good or very good.

A protest over Compass-supplied meals attracted several hundred people outside Dunedin Hospital on April 29.

In response to complaints and media coverage, Compass Group introduced "patient experience co-ordinators" to patrol wards before, during and after each meal service.

Compass provided food services for nine DHBs, including Auckland, Waitemata, Counties Manukau and Canterbury.



Six DHBs, including the Southern DHB, were served food from the same menu each day, some 4000 meals.