Sir – I have just spent several days as an in-patient at the Oxford Churchill Hospital’s John Warin Ward, where the quality of nursing and domestic care was of the very highest standard.

Unhappily, the food was not. The menu’s ‘breaded fish’ looked as if the unknown fish had swum a very long way and turned grey with exhaustion, and the breadcrumbs had gone clammy in sympathy.

When my chosen vegetable lasagne was unavailable, I was presented with an alternative, a plate of unidentifiable food that looked exactly like a mound of cat’s vomit, plus tomato soup more water than tomato. The leather concoction that passed as an omelette was made with eggs that looked as if the yolks were anaemic.

I had expected healthy yoghurt to be a standard menu item, but when it did appear, it was fudge, not fruit.

I am aware that the NHS is under great financial restraints, and that mass catering is not easy.

I am far from a ‘foodie’ gourmet, but I believe that attractive, tasty food is as vital to a hospital patient’s recovery as the best nursing. Jamie Oliver, where are you? The NHS needs you . . .

Elizabeth Seager, East End, North Leigh