"Parents on the ward"

My child has been admitted for respiratory distress. We have been here for almost a week now and as grateful as I am to the staff and the facilities we have available to care for us I believe that we as parents staying on the ward need to be supported also. 

My issues have been that we have limited access to food ourselves due to not being able to leave our children on the wards by themselves. I am now going on to day 4 with spaces of 8-12 hours in between meals due to me not having another family member accessible during the day to come and watch my child while I find food and a drink other than coffee/tea and water. 

Every day i have to go in on the TV service to order my child's food for the day, can this services not be extended to parents on the ward also? The breakfast bags are a fantastic idea but most people don't eat just once a day but for most of us on the ward this is all we get as we don't have the choice to go and get our food or have someone bring food along until early morning or late in the day.

Please be mindful of those parents/carer givers staying on the wards that need to be at the top of our game too so everyone can get the best care possible.