Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest provider of acute hospital services in Surrey, serving a population of more than 380,000 people. With an increased emphasis on good nutrition, its catering needed to be redefined.
The brief
To encourage patients, visitors and staff to adopt a healthier approach to food by providing a new range of menus with increased focus on nutrition and choice.
The OCS solution
Working closely with the trust, its dieticians and patients, we led the development and launch of the Essential Goodness™ brand. We opened new outlets for outpatients, visitors and staff, offering a wider choice and longer opening hours. We also support NHS initiatives such as Nutrition and Hydration Week.
Our menus identify healthy options using clear symbols. Specialist à la carte menus were also developed to offer more choice to patients with specific dietary requirements - for example, Halal, gluten-free, low-potassium and pureed food.
Featuring on uniforms, cutlery and the menus themselves, the branding is recognisable across the trust. It has improved patients’ perception of the hospitals by 25% according to patient surveys.
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.