HEALTH Secretary Matt Hancock has cooked up a storm in the kitchen today – but was given a helping hand by Bake Off star Prue Leith.
In a visit to University Hospital Southampton to promote better NHS hospital grub, the Health Secretary grabbed a pan and got involved in the action.
Prue told Matt his omelette was “delicious”, but at a glance you’d be forgiven for thinking it didn’t look hugely dissimilar than some of the other examples of hospital food on offer.
The Health Secretary was keen to avoid his “Ed Miliband moment” being snapped awkwardly tucking into his creation, but was left red-faced when a scrap of melted cheese escaped his mouth.
However, his three-egg cheese and omelette dish didn’t impress everyone, as hospital chef Tabia Parker said she’d only mark it a six out of ten.
Mr Hancock told HOAR the last meal he cooked was last weekend for his wife after coming back from the Tory manifesto launch in Telford.
But he hadn’t tried his hand at an omelette since his student days.
The Secretary of State visited the kitchens at Southampton’s main hospital – where food is made for thousands of hungry patients every day.
He told HOAR earlier: “I thought the omelette was ok. But the thing that made my heart sink was that Prue said it was delicious!
“Today here we are to try and improve hospital food.
“It’s important that the food in hospitals is not just safe, but nutritious and delicious so that people want to eat it so it’s part of their recovery. That’s one part of our long term plan to strengthen the NHS.”
But he waved off questions on the Tories’ social care policy, which has been dubbed a fudge by critics.
The party insists they will out 5billion into social care and work on a long-term plan across the Commons at a later date.
Theresa May’s 2017 manifesto contained a controversial social care policy which was later dubbed the dementia tax, and forced her into a humiliating u-turn.
Just weeks later she lost her majority and had to battle on through Brexit with even fewer MPs than before.
Mr Hancock said today: “We have to ensure that people don’t sell their homes to pay for care, and we should engage right across the new parliament to find a solution.”
