The study found money could be freed to spend on patients

A study by Audit Scotland found money could be saved by cutting waste and scrapping food subsidies provided for staff and visitors.

The public sector watchdog said the savings would enable an extra 75p per day for patients' food.

The verdict came in a report which generally gave a clean bill of health to Scottish hospital catering services.

Audit Scotland found wastage procedures could be tightened up and said three-quarters of the hospitals studied were subsidising the catering for staff and visitors, in most cases without realising it.

We are concerned that some trusts are not screening patients' needs properly Caroline Gardner Deputy auditor general

The cost of this subsidy worked out at �4.2m across Scotland - an average of �110,000 per hospital - and reducing it by half would cut costs of �2.1m, said the Audit Scotland report Catering for Patients.

A further �1.9m could be freed up by better planning and by cutting waste in hospital catering departments.

Wastage rates vary widely, from under 1% in some hospitals to more than 40% in others.

The report said 92% of hospital patients were satisfied with hospital food, but a fifth of hospitals had no screening procedures to identify patients at risk of malnutrition.

The report said nutritional care should be given a higher priority by all staff and recommends that all patients are properly screened on admission.

Some 80% of hospitals had their own in-house catering departments while 20% used outside suppliers.

HOSPITAL FOOD BILLS NHS food subsidy totals �4.2m across Scotland Subsidy averages �110,000 per hospital Wastage rates varied from 1% to 40% �1.9m could be saved by better planning and cutting waste 92% of patients satisfied with hospital food Source: Audit Scotland

In the hospitals that had their own catering departments, the cost of food and drink per patient ranged from �1.25 a day to more than �3.

The overall cost of providing food ranged from �3.50 and �7.50 per patient.

But in eight of the hospitals studied, private contractors did not provide cost information citing "commercial confidentiality".

The investigators said, however, that they found "no relationship" between patient satisfaction levels and the cost of the service or the method of provision.

Deputy auditor general Caroline Gardner said: "It's good news that patients are generally satisfied with the food they receive in hospital.

New standards

"However we are concerned that some trusts are not screening patients' needs properly.

"The report identifies a number of savings which could be reinvested to improve nutritional care."

The Scottish Executive welcomed the report and said new standards issued in September would help ensure the recommendations were addressed.

Among other measures the standards require hospitals to screen all patients for the risk of malnutrition within a day of admission.