Hospital Serving Junk Food, Health Advocates Unhappy

Burgers, fries, chicken nuggets and soft serve ice cream – these are the kinds of food you expect to be served at a fast food restaurant not in a hospital. Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) has recently opened a food outlet called Threepenny and health advocates are not happy about the situation. They say they are “very disappointed” that foods high in fat and sugar are being sold in a hospital. According to the health department website, Threepenny serves “classic family favourite menu items with a healthy twist”.

Public Health Advocacy Institute of Western Australia director Dr. Melissa Stoneham said the situation was “very disappointing”. She added: “It does seem sensible that a facility that is looking after people’s health actually provides the food which would make them healthy, rather than unhealthy.”

Another group that is concerned over the food that Threepenny is serving is The Australian Medical Association (AMA). They say that the food outlet is “completely inappropriate” for a health facility and according to the state Omar Khorshid, it was “very disappointing that in this beautiful new hospital. He added: “The Government has not taken the opportunity to really send a strong message to the community about the importance of healthy eating”.

The AMA is calling on the Government to ban all kinds of junk food and sugary beverages in all hospitals nationwide.