TV presenter Loyd Grossman has been spearheading the government's drive to improve the quality of food offered by the National Health Service (NHS). During his research, Grossman found that many hospital patients were malnourished and dehydrated.

In his report 'Foodstuff: Living in an Age of Feast and Famine', Grossman says the NHS's failure to create tasty and nutritious food is 'damning and damaging our society'.

Grossman said: 'The development of drugs and technology has overshadowed the simpler, less glamorous but no less important basics, like providing the right sort of food and drink to patients.

'There's the issue of water. Quite simply, NHS patients don't get enough of it, and the cost of dehydration is significant. Can we replace those unweildy jugs of water with something that will encourage patients to drink more?' The health secretary, Alan Milburn, has asked Grossman – who is chairman of the Better Hospital Food Panel – to oversee a dramatic improvement in the quality and uptake of food offered by the NHS. Grossman says in his report that the need for urgent action is overwhelming.

In 2001, the presenter ran a campaign with various celebrity chefs to create more tempting menus for hospital patients.