Catering at Bradford hospitals has come under fire in a guide for new junior doctors.

The book, which gives a detailed account of what the young medics can expect when they begin work, is damning about the quality of food served up in Bradford hospital canteens.

The book, Guide to House Jobs in Yorkshire, gives a detailed account of the highs and lows of working as a junior doctor in hospitals across the area.

One anonymous junior doctor is quoted as saying: "Canteen - I would not feed my dog with this food." And Bradford NHS Hospital Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, admitted improvements needed to be made in catering.

The book, written by junior doctors, is aimed at final-year students looking for their first jobs as newly-qualified doctors.

It describes the hours worked, accommodation and catering, the level of teaching and support and gives each job a stress-level rating.

Although food and accommodation came under attack, there was praise for other aspects of BRI and St Luke's in the guide, published by the British Medical Association's Yorkshire regional junior doctors' committee.

Dr Ian Wilson, a leading member of the committee and a former chairman of the Yorkshire regional committee, said: "It's heartening to see that in terms of hours on duty, Bradford has made some significant moves forward, but there is a long way still to go.

"But there is serious concern about accommodation and catering. We would all expect a minimum standard of accommodation and catering when we are made to stay away from home on business but Bradford is still failing in that respect."

A spokesman for Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust admitted further work needed to be done in some areas such as catering and accommodation and assured junior doctors that plans were being developed to identify how best they could be done.

He added: "We welcome the fact that the house jobs offered by BRI and St Luke's Hospital were once again endorsed by the junior doctors - with every single post being recommended to their successors.

"We were also pleased to note the many positive comments received about the friendly environment and good atmosphere that exist, as well as about the high- quality clinical and educational content of the posts.

"The trust continues to work closely with junior doctors to develop ways of improving their working hours and living conditions."

Last month junior doctors in Bradford said they were willing to strike as part of a national campaign for better overtime pay and conditions. Some junior doctors are paid just £4.02 a hour for working weekends and bank holidays and some at BRI clock up between 80 and 90 hours a week.

On the menu: Skulls in a devil sauce

The staff menu at Bradford Royal Infirmary included shrunken skulls, devil sauce, mouth-sized pieces of flesh and vampire fried bat brain.

Luckily it was a Hallowe'en menu and on a normal day would have read: jacket potatoes, tomato sauce, beef in red wine and sweetcorn and red peppers.

The T&A went along to eat with staff at BRI and ask them for their verdicts. And like the Hallowe'en menu, their thoughts were a bit grim.

Dr Graham Smith said unless he got there soon after food started being served, the choice was often limited. And he said £2.40 for beef in red wine with rice and a drink was too expensive.

"We have to eat here - there's no alternative. We can't leave the site in case we're bleeped.

"The evening meal is terrible - it's literally sausage, chips and pies. The nurses all bring packed lunches if they're on nights."

He added: "It's very expensive and there's not much selection. The evening meal is absolutely terrible. You could go to some greasy spoon and get a better meal."

Dr Anthea Tan said: "They do try to make it interesting. They had a Mexican day and there was a menu for Pakistan Independence Day." Senior house officer Maggi Jedlicka said: "You can't get any decent food. The salad bar is appalling."

The food at Bradford hospitals is provided by outside caterers Bateman and catering manager David Barry said: "I can hardly remember the last real complaint we had. I think the last one was probably last week when a gentleman requested some special food just before closing time."

He said they managed to provide him with the food he wanted. T&A reporter Tanya Johnson said: "The poached fish in a tomato sauce was very nice but the only vegetable available was sweetcorn.

"The chilled chocolate bread and butter pud looked tasty but was pretty tasteless."

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