Dr Choudri has coeliac disease himself and knows the importance of a gluten-free diet.
In turn, this led to more complaints from coeliac patients that they could not access gluten-free food.
Coeliac disease is often diagnosed in childhood, and can be characterised by a distended stomach and stunted growth.
Not providing it is equivalent to denying someone their drugs - it's not a choice to be coeliac.
Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, says hospital caterers became worried about labelling their food gluten-free after stricter criteria were introduced in January.
Coeliac disease is caused by gluten, a protein that is found in wheat, and other similar proteins that are found in rye, barley, and oats.
Coeliac disease sufferers can develop serious illnesses if they eat gluten.
When a patient who is coeliac has a planned hospital admission, then it is easier to deal with their food needs than a patient who is admitted in an emergency.
Gluten-free bread, cake mixes and bourbon biscuits are also available to people with coeliac disease, an auto-immune disease, which is triggered by eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye.
Coeliac UK, which represents sufferers, worries that the hidden costs of prescriptions (which patients pay for, unless they have other conditions which qualify them for free scripts) is giving the whole system a bad name.
Professor Paul Cicilitira is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at St Thomas' Hospital in London and has been leading a three-year study, funded by leading medical charity Action Research, to look specifically at coeliac disease and inheritance patterns.
To try to improve the situation, the charity Coeliac UK has recently launched some training courses for caterers to help those working in kitchens in hospitals, care homes and big companies understand the dietary needs of a coeliac.
"The aim of providing gluten-free food products on NHS prescription is to encourage patients with coeliac disease to stick to a gluten-free, nutritious diet so they do not go on to develop more serious illnesses, which can affect their quality of life as well as being much more costly for the NHS, " he said in a statement.
应用推荐