BBC Morning Live aired an emotional segment on Thursday's show
Image: bbc)
BBC Morning Live, presented by Gaby Roslin and Gethin Jones, took a heartfelt turn on Thursday.
Presenter Briony May Williams led a touching segment, speaking to a guest whose young daughter had been dealt a heartbreaking diagnosis.
Briony shared: "Spending time in hospital is never easy, whether you're in A&E, due an operation, or receiving ongoing treatment.
"One thing that can have a huge impact on our mood and physical health is tasty, nutritious food. But when it comes to hospital meals, it's fair to say they haven't always had the best reputation."
She continued: "And one person with a lot of first-hand experience of hospital food is mum Charlotte. When her nine-year-old daughter Sophie was admitted in 2020.", reports Wales Online.
Image:
BBC)Charlotte told Briony: "Sophie sadly was diagnosed with cancer. She went through very aggressive inpatient chemotherapy. She lost her taste because of chemo. She described the food in hospital as disgusting and didn't like it. Sophie loved food, yet she just refused to eat in hospital."
To which Briony responded: "A clear sign that the food isn't good enough."
In a video clip, Briony then emotionally revealed: "Ten months into treatment, Sophie's health took a significant turn for the worse."
Charlotte recalled: "She relapsed with a brand new tumour" with it explained that it was a tumour with no curable treatment.
The emotional mother added: "That's every parent's worst nightmare. She cried that day, but from that day on, she was incredible.
"So she wrote a bucket list of things she wanted to do in the short time she had left. On that list, she had some things that she wanted me to achieve when she'd gone."
Image:
BBC)Briony then explained: "And one of those was to improve hospital food for kids" with Charlotte saying: "She was just determined to say, 'This shouldn't be like this.'".
It was then revealed that in 2020 an independent review of NHS hospital food emphasised Sophie's call for patients to have high-quality nutritious meals.
The review also highlighted a need to celebrate hospital chefs with NHS England launching NHS Chef of the Year, an annual competition which challenges hospital chefs to create new, nutritious meals for patients.
Briony then met this year's winners, who showed her their award-winning dishes and Briony even got to help create some meals too.
In a moving moment, Charlotte was invited to be one of the judges for the children's category. She said of judging through Sophie's eyes: "Yes, I just thought: 'Would she have liked this? Would she have eaten it?'"
Morning Live continues on weekdays at 9:30am on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.