A hospital has apologised to heart patient after he was refused halal meat because he was not Muslim.
Roger Strange, 65, said he was the victim of discrimination when he was refused the halal meal he picked in a bid to avoid the “disgusting” other choices.
But when he submitted his order a catering manager said it was not possible because he was the wrong “ethnic religion”.
Roger, who is recovering on the cardiac ward at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, had previously been allowed the food when he was recovering from a heart attack.
He said: “In the first place the food in this hospital is pretty disgusting to be honest.
“But they have specialist menus including a Halal menu for Muslims and Kosher for Jews.
“In the past I’ve asked if I could have this menu and ordered something from that.
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“That food is absolutely superb, it’s delicious. It’s really very good.
“But for some reason this time they wouldn’t let me have it.
“And I just thought, ‘that’s not on’.
“It’s discrimination surely, to say I can’t have the food because I’m not the right religion.”
The hospital’s food is provided by external body Carillion. A spokesman said: “We apologise to Mr Strange for any offence caused. We are working closely with the trust to ensure all patients receive their preferred choice of meal.”
Meanwhile the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has said it will remind nursing staff and Carillion of the choice of meals available to patients to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
A spokesman added: “We were extremely disappointed to hear of this incident which appears to be as a result of miscommunication and apologise for any upset caused to Mr Strange.”
