Tameside Hospital to open permanent food bank

The number of malnourished patients turning up for treatment has increased significantly in the last 12 months, Tameside Hospital said

A hospital in Greater Manchester is to become the first in the United Kingdom to open a permanent food bank on site.

Tameside Hospital said it was doing so because of a significant increase during the last year in the number of suspected malnourished patients.

The hospital will soon start working with the Trussell Trust, which has a network of food banks across Tameside.

There will be a central collection point and several "bins" where staff and visitors can leave contributions.

Volunteers will take the donated food to a warehouse in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Emergency boxes will then be distributed discreetly to vulnerable patients when they are discharged.

'Going hungry'

Tameside Hospital Chief Executive Karen James said there was "great enthusiasm" among her staff to tackle malnourishment.

"The majority of colleagues live in the community they serve, and some will be aware - either first hand, or through family and friends - of other neighbours who are struggling to cope," she said.

Gwen Drain, manager of the Tameside East food bank, said she was "delighted by the hospital's approach".

She added: "Today in Tameside there are families struggling to put food on the table. For people on low incomes, a sudden crisis - redundancy, benefit delay or even an unexpected bill - can mean going hungry.

"Every day parents skip meals to feel their children and people are forced to choose between paying the rent and eating."

The number of malnourished patients in English and Welsh hospitals has risen from 5,469 to 6,520 in the past year, according to the Department of Health-funded Health and Social Care Information Centre.