Waikouaiti’s Lynn St Clair-Newman said the meal she was served up at ward 8A was "absolutely nothing" and she was disgusted by it.
Her menu slip listed no other vegetables, although the hospital’s food supplier, Compass Group NZ, said Christmas lunches included peas and pumpkin.
Hungry and expecting a nice meal while spending the holiday in hospital, she told the person serving her "that’s not Christmas dinner", but the person laughed and moved on, she said.
The ham and two potatoes both tasted lovely, but were not enough.
Her menu was headed "Diabetic Adult (W Snacks)" and listed Christmas ham, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, salt and pepper.
It also listed a "Christmas fruit salad and ice cream".
The meal at night was just normal and there was no Christmas pudding to be seen — Miss St Clair-Newman could not understand it.
The Southern District Health Board — now Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) Southern — outsourced its hospital meals to Compass Group under a deal approved in 2015.
It was a move that sparked protest outside the hospital the following year by those concerned about the quality of food prepared in the North Island and transported south.
"They took away our meals from here in Dunedin to give them to Auckland and everything, and then they do that to us," Miss St Clair-Newman said.
"I mean, it’s disgusting. It really is."
The Otago Daily Times contacted HNZ Southern for comment and was given a response from Compass Group NZ managing director Ross Maclean.
The group was sorry to hear the patient did not have a good experience, he said.
"We are very proud at Compass Group to serve Southern patients on Christmas Day.
"Our head chef and kitchen team served 268 Christmas Day lunch meals, which included sliced ham-off-the-bone, cranberry sauce, gravy, roast potatoes, peas and pumpkin."
"Compass Group takes pride in serving nutritious, healthy and tasty meals at Southern, including our Christmas-themed menu on Christmas Day."
The group also received positive feedback about the Christmas lunches, and the patient was encouraged to email HNZ Southern so the issue could be investigated, he said.
Te Whatu Ora Southern would not answer further questions from the ODT on whether the menu Miss St Clair-Newman was provided was an anomaly, and if there was a reason for the lack of vegetables.
