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Munchies

The Beauty of the British Hospital Canteen

Where better to taste that founding spirit of care and social justice than in the NHS's communal dining spaces?

Walking past the "Discharge Lounge" and "Dirty Cupboard" of Homerton University Hospital, I inevitably start to giggle. I'm not alone. My friend, who will be training at the hospital as a psychologist next year, is snapping a photo of the door signs on her phone and stifling a laugh. The National Health Service is mighty, beautiful, essential—but it isn't without humour.

Despite the current Government's apparent attempts to bring the NHS to its knees through funding cuts, restructuring, and back door privatisation; the organisation is still one of Britain's greatest achievements. Despite the £20 billion NHS-wide "savings drive" masterminded by Jeremy Hunt, despite the scapegoating of overworked GPs, and despite the fact that thousands will be marching through London this weekend in the #OurNHS protest, British hospitals are still a thing of wonder. The NHS is still arguably the best healthcare system in the world.

And where better to taste that founding spirit of care and social justice than in the canteens of its hospitals? I set off to have breakfast, lunch, and tea at three different London hospitals to find out firsthand what state our healthcare system is in.

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