If you’re an NHS patient in Hull, there’s likely to be something tasty for you to eat even if you find hospital food hard to swallow.
The specialist food team at Castle Hill Hospital and Hull Royal Infirmary has made improvements to the tasty meals they can provide to people with very different medical needs. The menu now has much more variety, it caters for multiple dietary requirements, it has earned a ‘5 Star’ environmental health rating and it makes specialist meals in-house for people with swallowing difficulties.
Whether a patient needs a gluten free or vegan diet, has a dairy intolerance or a specific allergy to an ingredient, if the team is told about it they will do whatever we can to ensure they best meet that person’s needs.
At the end of the year, a patient meal tasting session for staff, visitors and members of the public across Hull will give everyone the opportunity to try the new winter menu. Bradley Wheldrak e the meals service manager said: “The patient meals team has worked hard to try and improve the range and quality of food available.”
That’s tricky because 200 staff are involved in providing three square meals, plus drinks and snacks, for around 1,200 patients every day across the two hospitals.
(Image: Hull Daily Mail)
The team has spent a long time creating menus which cater to multiple dietary requirements and allergies, and which can be provided in ways which best meet patient needs. Bradley said: “It’s also important for us to keep on top of trends and changes in meal choices.
“There are somewhich we know will always be popular; macaroni cheese, steak pie; those kinds of things will always have a place on the menu, but tastes are changing.
“Spicy foods seem to be much more popular, a lot of people are following vegetarian or vegan diets, patients often have dietary requirements for religious or cultural reasons, and we are also having to cater to more allergies and intolerances now.
“On the flip side, we have some patients who don’t or can’t eat a lot for various reasons, so we have to look at how we provide them with smaller portions of calorie and protein-rich, nutritionally dense foods which appeal to them.
“We’re proud to say we’re one of the very few hospitals in the country to create our own texture-modified meals in house for people with dysphagia [painful swallowing].
(Image: Hull Daily Mail)
“Because they’re produced in-house, we know exactly what goes into them, we can ensure they are protein and calorie rich, and we can also tweak our recipes based on patient feedback.
“We’ve also been able to reduce the amount of food waste through better portion control, reviewing how we order food, the introduction of single portions to reduce over-ordering, and more regular food waste audits.
“On top of that, we’ve gained the highest possible environmental heath rating of ‘5 – Very Good’ for our patient meals service at both hospitals for the past five years, which shows just how seriously our staff take their role.”
Patient Meals Assistant Manager Jo Tock said: “If you’re spending time in hospital, mealtimes help to break up the long days, so we want them to be a highlight. Good nutrition and regular meals are really important for our patients’ recovery and their ongoing health once they’re discharged from hospital, so our team has an important job to do both in terms of patient experience and their physical care.
(Image: Hull Daily Mail)
“As we have our own diet chef in-house, our starting point is usually, tell us what you would normally eat at home, and we’ll go from there.” Catering at volume is never easy, and as soon as one has finished, the team is already on with preparing for the next meal service.
Outside core mealtimes, the team also ensures snacks are available for patients, making this a truly 24-hour, round-the-clock service.
At a time when costs and pressures in all sectors are rising, this local team is focused on catering to patients’ most basic needs without compromising on quality or taste.
Towards the end of the year, a patient meal tasting session will be held in Hull to introduce the new winter menu, where staff, visitors and members of the public will be able to sample some of the patient meals on offer for free.