Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was formed in April 1998 following the merger of the previously separate hospitals. The district general hospital works across two sites - St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, and Ashford Hospital in Middlesex. It's the largest provider of acute hospital services in Surrey, serving a population of more than 380,000 people.
The brief
The Trust is placing increased emphasis on good nutrition, encompassing all catering for patients staying in hospital, outpatients, visitors and staff. The aim is to encourage patients to adopt a healthier approach to food, to understand exactly what they're eating and how it can support their recovery. Good nutrition is an essential part of patient care as tasty and healthy food can encourage a patient to eat well and give them the nutrients needed to recover from surgery or illness. It is also a key part of the NHS' 'Enhanced Recovery Programme'.
The OCS solution
OCS led the development and implementation of a new initiative to improve patient catering with the launch of the Essential Goodness™ brand which places increased emphasis on how vital good food is to patient recovery. Ideas were brainstormed among the OCS catering team, Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust and with their patient group to develop the branding. The OCS catering team worked closely with dieticians from the Trust, and the patients themselves, on a range of new menus.
With increased focus on nutrition and choice, the Essential Goodness™ and Healthy Options menus use symbols to highlight options that are healthy, high energy and part of a 'five fruit and vegetables a day' plan, as well as soft and vegetarian options. All main courses, vegetables and fresh fruit are suitable for diabetics. In addition to the main menu, OCS has developed a number of specialist à la carte menus offering more choice to patients with specific dietary requirements, for example Halal, gluten-free, low potassium and puree.
Outpatients, visitors and staff are also well-catered for through the new Retreat Cafés in Ashford and St. Peter's main entrances, with longer opening hours and a wide range of meal and drink choices. The Café menu includes freshly-brewed coffee and healthy Grab-and-Go options such as fresh juices, filled wraps, sushi, salad pots and paninis.
The client benefits
Inpatient catering services are clearly recognisable across the Trust with the Essential Goodness™ and Healthy Options branding being added to catering staff uniforms, trolleys, crockery and cutlery. The result has been an outstanding success: patient surveys revealed that the branding had increased patients' positive perception of the hospitals by 25 per cent.
OCS supports initiatives such as Nutrition and Hydration Week, providing a vintage afternoon tea for patients and relatives or developing a 'nature cart' offering fresh fruit cordials to encourage everyone to stay hydrated and to eat more fruit.
The Essential Goodness™ brand is seen as a means of improving the quality of food for patients and providing the best nutrition to support their treatment and care.
‘Good nutrition is really important in helping patients to recover so they can go home quicker, and our new menus will help patients choose the right foods for their individual needs. What’s unusual is that we are now offering à la carte menus to people on diets with specific requirements, giving them greater choice and variety in their food.’