G'day all,

We're expecting our first baby in early April (not
long now!) and will have the baby with Dr Dreher at
Calvary Private.

The pre-enrolment meeting went well in February and
the midwife who conducted it asked "how bad is it?'
when we mentioned Helen's peanut allergy. After we
told her "bad" she called for a dietician to join us.

The dietician felt that they could safely feed us but
that we should write to the hospital manager to raise
it as an issue for them.

Here's our letter:

Business Manager,
Calvary Private Hospital,

22 February 2005

Dear Marie,

My name is Helen and I am booked into Calvary Private
Hospital for the birth of my first child, due on the
8th April.

I attended my pre-admission clinic on the 21st
February. In the course of the meeting I informed Lynn
of my allergies to penicillin and peanuts. Lynn
suggested that I speak with a hospital dietician to
discuss my needs for meals etc.

I then spoke with Jenny and she suggested that I
contact you to inform you of my requirements during my
stay at the hospital.

My allergy is severe and I have suffered anaphylaxis
after consuming trace amounts of peanuts in food. I
have had to ‘visit’ Calvary Emergency department three
times in the past few years after eating foods
contaminated with peanut traces. I have also reacted
to inhaling peanut allergens. I am so sensitive to
peanuts that I have had breathing problems and itchy
swellings on my face from touching a knife used by a
family member to make a peanut butter sandwich.

Jenny suggested that I write to you so that the
hospital staff would have adequate time to plan
necessary precautions for the preparation and serving
of my meals and those of my husband Geoff (who
maintains a strict ‘nut-free’ diet so as not to expose
me to any nut traces) for the time that we will be in
hospital.

As it may be difficult for your catering staff to
identify foods they may be serving to patients as
‘nut-free’ I can provide a list of safe foods and
brands of food that I am able to eat. I would also
like to make it known that if a food containing
peanuts (e.g. satay chicken) was prepared in the
hospital kitchens, it would be almost certain that I
would suffer an allergic reaction if my food was
prepared using the same cooking utensils. Jenny stated
that the kitchens are not ‘nut-free’ but I am hoping
that some precautions can be made to ensure that my
food will be safe.

It would also be necessary for any midwives or other
staff attending to me to be free of peanut residue
(e.g. from a peanut butter sandwich eaten at lunch),
and so it may be necessary to ask that staff members
refrain from eating such foods or be vigilant about
‘decontaminating’ their hands and breath.

Please contact me or my husband Geoff if you wish to
discuss this further with us on XXX or at the above
address. You may also wish to speak with my allergy
specialist Dr Mullins on Ph XXX or Fax XXX.

Yours sincerely,

Helen

...and we heard back from the head of the Nutrition
Unit on Monday (by phone):

The lady who called put in a submission to hospital
management before she went on maternity leave for a
peanut free kitchen at Calvary. They haven't done it
and her bub is now 18 months old.

Biggest worries: dessert trolley has an open fruit,
cheese and nut (including peanut) platter on it. They
will 'ban' it from our room (but who knows if
underpaid catering staff remember or care). They also
have satay on patient menu somedays.

I said we would probably decide the risk of cross
contamination was too high to eat their hot food.

She's still fighting management on this and wants to
'fix' the hospital for other peanut allergy patients.
She feels mangt is waiting for someone to die (or
nearly) before they will act. One peanut alergy
patient has got sick but from eating (deliberately) an
apple and walnut muffin. They didn't know they were
allergic to walnuts / tree nuts too. So management
just say 'its never happened before...'.

I told her about our experience on a Qantas aeroplane
over the Pacific, when Helen had anaphylaxis from
breathing airborne particulates from a stir fry that
was still in the aircraft ovens. Maria felt that might
sway it for us.

Hoepfully she'll have a victory for us this week.

In case she doesn't, we'll probably cook & freeze
complete meals / sandwiches for the two of us for the
5 days. Our parents will bring them in to us..

We're pretty disappointed with this and I'm tosing up
whether WIN, ABC TV, 666 or the Canberra Times might
like to run a story of a pretty pregnant lady who is
scared of her hospital's food...

Geoff (Helen's hubby)

[img]http://lilypie.com/days/
050408/3/0/1/+10/.png[/img]

This message was edited by helenmc on Monday, 4 April 2005 @ 11:59 PM

I am AMAZED. I thought that all hospitals were peanut-free for EXACTLY this reason!

Steph
DD Alex (March 04)

Yeah, you'd think...

How are you guys doing anyway Steph? We sure are
looking forward to meeting the newest SQSC bub in
three weeks time

Maybe Alex would like to have a little playmate???

Aaaaahhhhh so you're THAT Helen and Geoff! Eeek - how long have you been lurking around EB without me noticing? Boy do I feel slack now!

Not long to go for you guys. How bored are you and would you like to catch up before baby arrives?

Steph
DD Alex (March 04)

Lurk is the operative word! We haven't made too many
posts since coming to the site in September or so last
year It didn't take me long to work out who s_m
was!

Helen finished work on Monday, so she is a lady of
leisure now. I'm driving to Victoria with Dad tomorrow
to go to the Avalon airshow (for his 60 th birthday
present), and Mum and Helen will be at home (playing
in the nursery, no doubt)! Dad & I will be back
Suturday evening.

I'm sure Hel would love to see you (and so would I!)-
I've sent out a couple of pics from yesterday to lots
of folk today. Check your home e-mail account

Bye for now,

Geoff

PS the hospital has me so steamed up...

Just a thought but have you checked with Canberra Hospital to see if they can do any better. I know they don't have peanut butter on the kid's wards any more. Although I must say their vegetarian menu is truly bad ( having just spent 5 days there post C/S) so I don't know how good no nuts would be.
We have just dicovered my son has just a moderate peanut allergy and that is frustrating enough.
Good luck with everything.
Jo-Anne

DH 38
Angel Liam Patrick 26/1/02
DS Oliver Patrick18/3/03
one more due 22/2/05

I think the point is that people shouldn't HAVE to travel an extra 20+ minutes to a hospital - where their ob doesn't go either btw - JUST to make sure the food is safe!

I have friends whose DD has a similarly severe reaction to eggs and has been in TCH. I wonder what they did then? Might call them to ask...

Steph
DD Alex (March 04)

Thanks for your suggestions guys

We might have made some progress - the head
nutritionist visited me today and went through a
suggested management plan for us... seems like they
are trying to work through the contmination probs by
making sure my food/meals are kept separate from other
patient's and that catering and nursing staff are
informed of my special needs.

We will be given a small fridge for our room and
supplies such as individually wrapped portions of
Weetbix (I know these are safe), butter, vegemite and
jams, a loaf of bread etc so we make our own
breakfasts and lunches.

They are looking into Lean Cuisine Meals for dinners
(I have never checked the labels of these products
because we always cook our own food - I guess I'll
take a trip to Woolies tomorrow) or we might still ask
our family visitors to do a 'meals on wheels' run for
us.

The good news is that at least they are thinking of us
and trying to put a suitable plan together. We'll keep
you posted on how it goes...

Helen

[img]http://lilypie.com/days/
080405/3/0/1/+10/.png[/img]

Oh great how generous of them to offer to do this ON YOUR DUE DATE! I guess going to Woolies will keep your mind off the waiting...

Steph
DD Alex (March 04)

Well....I know it's a step in the right direction for you which is something BUT.....

I find the idea of pre-prepared frozen meals being offered by a hospital of all places pretty poor especially for a Mum who's just given birth .

I can't remember another time when I was looking for sooo much food, and good healthy nutritious food that filled me, and got me through the day (and night)...Lean Cuisine in my opinion just won't do that!!

Just a thought though.....a friend of mine used to work in the catering at Calvary. The kitchen is no longer run by the hospital, but a private catering company. The hospital may have little control/say over what they are and aren't doing/serving??