An MP whose constituent contracted listeria from a hospital sandwich has welcomed a review after five people died from consuming food from the same supplier.

The investigation, ordered by health secretary Matt Hancock, comes after nine people were diagnosed with the food poisoning bug after eating sandwiches supplied to NHS hospitals, including one at the William Harvey in Ashford.

Mother-of-one Tanya Marston, from Ashford, was diagnosed with listeriosis after eating a pre-packed sandwich from the William Harvey.

Ashford MP Damian Green speaks in parliament

The products, which were being distributed to 43 NHS trusts by the Good Food Chain, have been withdrawn.

Now, the health secretary has called for a review of hospital food following the outbreak - and the move has been supported by Ashford MP Damian Green.

Speaking in parliament yesterday, Mr Green said: "One of these cases took place in the William Harvey Hospital, in my constituency, and my constituent Tanya Marston - who is recovering from listeria - has made the point that she thinks there should be a very urgent inquiry so I welcome the announcement the (the health secretary) has made.

"But could he tell the House in terms of the specific safety aspect, rather than the wider nutritional inquiry, what's the time scale for coming to some kind of conclusion so that people can be reassured that hospital food is actually safe?"

Responding to Mr Green, Mr Hancock said the review would take a "matter of months".

"I am glad to hear the patient who is his constituent is recovering," he added.

"I am informed that all patients are either stable or recovered, apart from the five who tragically died.

"On the time scale, the urgent task at hand is to insure that there are no further cases and that there is no more of the food that we know has the potential to have problems in the food supply chain. That is what is going on right now. The time scale for the review will be a matter of months."

Listeria bacteria cause listeriosis, which can cause diarrhoea, fever, headaches and muscle pain. In certain people - pregnant mums, the young and old, and those with weakened immune systems - it can cause death.

Public Health England says the "health risk to the public remains low" and advises people to only seek medical attention if they develop symptoms.

A spokesman from the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the William Harvey, confirmed all pre-packaged sandwiches have been removed.

Staff now only serve patients freshly prepared sandwiches made locally.

The trust was one of 43 in the country which served sandwiches supplied by Staffordshire-based The Good Food Chain.

The company has voluntarily ceased production while an investigation is underway.

Dr Paul Stevens, the trust’s medical director, said: “Public health experts advised us of a potential problem with sandwiches containing chicken on Sunday, May 26 and we immediately removed all products from this supplier from our hospitals and checked to ensure that all of our own internal food handling policies had been followed.

“Although the risk of infection is extremely small, as soon as the trust was informed of the findings of Public Health England’s investigation, we ran an exercise to identify any at-risk patients and spoke directly to them.

“A patient in one of our hospitals was subsequently found to be affected and was immediately treated.

“No new cases have been found. Information has been sent to all doctors in the trust to make them aware of the situation.”

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