Millions have been spent on improving hospital food

The North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke, The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford and Battle Hospital in Reading were among 2% of hospitals where food standards were said to need improving.

The figures released by the Department of Health show just 17% of hospitals served meals regarded as being 'good' quality.

Among those are the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Hospitals serving 'poor' food Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear Hospital Middlesex Hospital Whipps Cross Hospital Hammersmith Hospital Kings College Hospital Queen Mary's Hospital Kingston Hospital St George's Hospital Good Hope Hospital North Hampshire Hospital Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre Battle Hospital, Berkshire

Health Minister Lord Hunt said the hospitals serving poor standards of food would be expected to improve by the end of the year.

They were all rated 'red' under a new 'traffic light' system to assess standards.

Lord Hunt said: "We are working closely with each 'red' food hospital. They all have action plans in place with a clear timetable for fixing the issues uncovered.

"Ongoing support is being provided and we do not expect any red hospitals to remain by the end of the year."

Celebrity food critic Loyd Grossman, who helped to devise gourmet menus for the NHS as part of the Better Hospital Food Programme, welcomed the figures.

"We cannot achieve all the changes required overnight and there is still more to do before we provide high standards which always meet patient needs and generally exceed their expectations," he said.

"We now have a clear baseline against which to take forward the second stage of the Better Hospital Food Programme."