A spoonful of sugar won’t sweeten this mis-prescribed medicine
Bubble — By Gillian White on July 16, 2010 7:00 am
Mary Poppins can't improve this bitter placebo
IN LATE 2008, the Welsh Minister for Health decided to implement a policy which would limit the products available for sale in vending machines in Welsh Hospitals. In the face of rising overweight and obesity within the population, the appeal of making Wales a healthier place seems absolutely laudable.
Delivering ‘Healthier Vending’ is an ambition we can all understand. Why, then, is the Automatic Vending Association (AVA) and the Vending Choice Coalition (VCC) so incensed by these changes? Surely, any policy designed to help people be healthier, live longer and make sensible food choices is the socially responsible action for the vending industry?
Because we have been ignored and these regulations are very badly structured. The nutritional guidelines that have been adopted in Wales to determine what can and cannot be sold in vending machines in hospitals were not designed for that purpose. The Food Standards Agency developed a classification system for foods high in fat, salt and sugar, but this was for the purpose of reducing the exposure of these products in television advertising to young people. The guidelines adopted were never designed for an essentially adult population, many of whom are working in out-of-hours environments where refreshment choices are extremely limited.
Further, to deem it appropriate that you cannot purchase a vending machine coffee or tea with sugar in A&E seems, on the face of it, quite bizarre. You can have sweetener in your coffee or tea, but not ordinary, common or garden granulated sugar? While this is hardly the forum to act like a vending geek, the ‘simple’ task of vending sweetener is extremely complex. Resembling fairy dust, the mere sniff of humidity sends sweeteners into a frenzied clump which do not lend themselves to vending. And is A&E really the place to start the journey to a different lifestyle?
Technicalities aside, the regulations only apply to vending machines in Welsh hospitals. No other retail outlet, or concession, hospital run or not, is subject to the strict guidelines that the Minister wishes to impose on vending. How is that adopting a holistic approach which will deliver consistent and measurable health outcomes? Yes, it’s just vending that’s affected, even though vending accounts for an estimated 10% of the food and beverages consumed in hospital premises.
Vending is a convenience retail channel second to none as it reaches parts traditional retailers cannot access. It is a truly 24 hour unattended refreshment service that can be found in locations such as factories, hospitals, universities and transport hubs. It wouldn’t be viable to have tens of small shops located across a workplace or hospital. It is perfectly possible to offer tens of small footprint vending machines in such places, and a destination to refresh, recharge and re-energise. Particularly relevant, given the pace of life and the demands placed on many of us during the working day. It’s really staff and visitors that are being denied choice through this poorly thought out policy.
The AVA and VCC find this approach somewhat puzzling, but are even more confused by the lack of willingness by WAG to enter into real, meaningful and constructive dialogue. The regulations were introduced with no consultation with us: so much for WAG being engaged with business. The AVA represents the UK and Ireland vending industry and the VCC is a lobbying group, chaired by the AVA, comprising trade associations and businesses for whom vending is an integral part of their commercial viability. Vending in the UK has a turnover of £1.6bn, employs 65, 000 people both directly and indirectly and every day delivers eight million cups of coffee and two million cups of tea. We are the voice of the industry but we have been ignored.
We’re not the bad guys here. Our attitude is pragmatic. From the early days of the regulation, the VCC has repeatedly offered its technical expertise and insights into vending consumer behaviours to move to a sensible and practical solution to healthier vending. We want to talk: we are experts and have much to share. Yes, of course we are commercially driven. But as private sector businesses we have a real interest in meeting the changing needs of consumers. If WAG is serious – truly serious – about getting a wider mix of content in vending machines, shouldn’t they talk meaningfully to us, the people who can work with them to make this happen?
On July 6, 2010 at UWIC, the VCC organised a free-of-charge conference to debate vending choice. In acknowledging that vending plays a role in offering the consumer more choice and more product information, the VCC is taking responsibility for its actions. Unlike traditional retailers, vending is limited by its small footprint, at most offering a range of around 40 products. Some 40 choices of nuts and seeds is no more choice than 40 packs of sweets.
A healthier Wales is, of course, something that cannot be denied as being the right thing to do. We share this ambition. Bu trying to do this by changing what is sold in vending machines, and only vending machines, in hospitals in Wales is confusing for consumers, denying choice, and overly complicated. But worst of all, it is unlikely to succeed in changing behaviour in any meaningful way.
After all, will you give up taking sugar in your tea and coffee if you can’t get it in hospitals when all the other retail outlets are closed?
Tags: Edwina Hart, NHS, vending
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8 Comments
Great article. Just sums up the Welsh Assembly Government. They still think they can make everything better with endless regulation. Most of which ends up, as is clearly the case here, fundamentally flawed and almost guaranteed to fail. What possible life-style change is this going to promote? The fact that this only applies to vending machines, and not the hospital shops, is utterly bizarre. I cannot see any possible logic for singling them out.
Let’s hope we get a change of government next year so WAG can stop this sort of nonsense and get on with actually trying to run their failing services.
I am at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff once, often twice a week.
Two things annoy me greatly: not that vending machines have a restricted range of products, but that the shops when open seem to a) have a licence to print money (WH Smith – a sandwich for anything under £3, you’ll be lucky) and b) peddle, pressurise, seem to be on incentives to sell, junk: WH Smith again “would you like today’s mega offer of a giant bar of chocolate for just £1?”
So essentials – food for staff, unhappy patients/visitors, is both poor quality and expensive. Whilst junk, they give away.
The sooner hospital trusts stop taking money out of their patients and staff pockets (presumably that’s what these identi-kit franchises are for) by force, the better. Bring back the WRVS. Or else insist that franchises offer healthy, locally sources and manufactured food at acceptable prices (and forgo their cut in order to do so).
PS there’s a really good cafeteria at UHWC that not only cooks a mean curry (Friday’s) but is open late with supper starting at 9.30pm. No need for sandwiches or vending machines. Be warned, ward sisters are a bit sniffy about you taking take-aways back because “the smell’s distressing when we are all hungry” and “we can’t afford to eat there on our wages”. Another story perhaps?
I don’t particularly take issue with these type of lobbying articles, essentially all pieces on this site ‘lobby’ their side, but I would really like to see the other side of the view to this.
I recently spent a number of days as a hospital visitor getting all my food from hospital, and all that was on offer was chocolate, crisps and sandwiches in the vending machine.
“The fact that this only applies to vending machines, and not the hospital shops, is utterly bizarre. I cannot see any possible logic for singling them out.”
Well, I can think of one. In nevill hall the shop is run by a charity with volunteers, of which any profits are donated to a fund that goes back into care of the elderly. I would hazard a guess that the vending industry is not as inherently altruistic.
Surely, and I don’t take sides out of spite, these are publicly funded places, private business does not have a divine right to trade there. If the regulations are not suitable for your business, I am sure in this time of economic downturn there will be others willing to step into the breach?
Regardless of what you think about the law itself (and the coffee one seems bizarre granted), our NHS and Government serves it’s people, not the vested interest of business.
I hope I have not come across to harsh, I think the argument was well put, but I believe passionately in public spaces such as hospitals being there to serve the interests of the people. In hospitals, we are not customers, we are citizens.
“In hospitals, we are not customers, we are citizens.”
I think you’ll find the whole crux of New Labour policy was the reverse, they very much wanted you to be Customers, for everything to be a business. Has that ethos filtered through to the Assembly? One would hope not, but suspect so.
Sorry if everyone is expecting a deep in thought response to this article….
But the fact of the matter is, due to numerous injuries through sport and stupidity since 2008, I have been a regular visitor to A and E, and when my shoulder is hanging off by a thread because of a rugby accident, there is nothing more than I want than a can of coke and a Mars bar- comfort food if you will- and I am sure this is the same for many people in similar situations.
What consultation took place? Who knows?! But what I do know, and my diet is relatively healthy, is that when I am in that situation in A and E, I don’t want a bottle of grass juice and some orange peel!
Some of the stuff is vastly overpriced but it is there for convenience. Suppose the vending business has taken a blow since WAG voted to ban cigarette machines in pubs, clubs and restaurants. It stops minors buying the fags but it will give more revenue to the big chain stores in cigarette sales.
There could be a rethink on vending machines style as well. What about an eco foods machine with vegetarian foods- choc soya milk, oat bars, nuts, seeds? You’ll have people trying to search these machines out rather than bumping into them.
Well here’s a red letter day. It had to happen eventually, I suppose….
Ummm … I agree with Marcus on this. “[T]hese are publicly funded places, private business does not have a divine right to trade there. If the regulations are not suitable for your business, I am sure in this time of economic downturn there will be others willing to step into the breach? … [O]ur NHS and Government serves it’s people, not the vested interest of business”.
Gillian says that “The AVA and VCC … are … confused by the lack of willingness by WAG to enter into real, meaningful and constructive dialogue.” Is she saying that Edwina Hart/WAG have completely ignored their representations? Or that such dialogue as they’ve had has not resulted in “real, meaningful and constructive” concessions to her industry’s lobbying?
Presumably the “small footprint” refers to the floor space the vending machines take up rather than their carbon footprint which is probably relatively large – electricity for lights, cooling etc, on 24hrs a day, and the transport – CO2, as small quantities of goods that have to be regularly delivered by van (plus engineer call outs when the machines stop working).