Meat has been taken off the menu in two NSW hospitals because the debt-ridden Health Department isn't paying its bills, a State MP claims.
Patients in Gilgandra and Coonabarrabran hospitals are being fed meatless meals because the Health Department has not paid their butcher bills.
It has left State MP Kevin Humphries so concerned about inadequate patient diets, he's offered to foot the bill himself.
"Our patients deserve better. It is a sad day when staff are forced to compromise patient care with a reduced and inadequate diet," he told Fairfax.
"I have even heard stories of staff buying meat for their patients out of their own pockets."
The Health Department admits it has several outstanding debts to a number of creditors and has apologised but it seems the money is being spent elsewhere.
It has been revealed public hospitals are forking out $37 million a year to fly in overseas and interstate doctors to fill gaps left by chronic staffing shortages.