We compared the price of a meal for NHS staff with that of MPs.
NHS staff are forced to pay around twice as much for food at work than MPs pay in the highly-subsidised House of Commons eateries.
NursingNotes asked ten large NHS trusts about the price of food for staff and found that the average price NHS staff paid for a cooked meal or sandwich meal deal plus a cold drink was £9.33.
In stark contrast, the price of a two-course meal consisting of British leek and potato soup, braised British lamb’s liver and onions and a diet coke for MPs in the Members’ Tea Room in the House of Common is just £5.
For NHS staff, the average price for a cup of tea was £2.45 and for a large latte was £3.19 compared with MPs paying 80p for a tea and just £1.07 for a latte.
MPs eat for half the price of nurses.
Comparing 46 items of food and drink, NursingNotes found that MPs, on average, ate at around half the price (-46%) of NHS workers and had a healthier, more significant range of food available to them.
The Members’ Dining Room menu also reveals MPs can grab a three-course meal for as little as £12.75.
Not only do MPs enjoy the luxury of highly subsidised food but also alcohol with craft larger costing £3.55 and a whisky from just £3.16
A survey undertaken in 2019 revealed that almost 2 out of every 5 nurses admitted to missing meals to feed their families or save money.
With inflation hitting nearly 10%, this situation has likely only worsened.
Treating NHS staff fairly.
Grassroots group Nurses United Uk has called for nurses to be “treated fairly”.
Anthony Johnson, the group’s lead organiser, responded to our findings, “Nurses know that our job is to promote equity and health for all.
“There shouldn’t be one rule for the wealthy and privileged MPs and another rule for nurses trying to care for people and improve their health.
“When June rolls around, and we’re asked to ballot on our upcoming pay deal, we need to take action and all vote to pass the ballot. Otherwise, how will this situation change?
“Nurses are powerful when we work together to save lives. We can also show that power when we work together to ensure that nurses are treated fairly.”
