The words “delicious” and “fantastic” are usually used to describe the food served in a top restaurant, but 71-year-old John Lawton is not talking about a meal at a Michelin star eatery, he’s describing the food at Musgrove Park hospital where he is an in-patient.
“You can’t knock it,” says Lawton as he happily tucks into a piping hot chilli con carne. “It makes the stay a lot more pleasant, because you are getting a good meal. I love the variety on offer and the staff are very flexible.”
This positive and consistent feedback from patients at the hospital in Taunton, Somerset, was a contributing factor that helped it scoop the Hospital Catering Association’s catering service of the year award earlier this year. Musgrove Park was recognised for having made a real and positive difference in its catering provision and was highlighted as a leader in the field, developing best practice initiatives in key areas, working in partnership with apetito.
But what is it about the hospital’s food and catering service that has the patients asking for seconds? According to Jon Smith, Musgrove Park’s catering liaison manager, using apetito’s range of frozen meals means the hospital is able to serve delicious, nutritious and the highest quality food every time, no matter what time of the day. The extensive range of meals not only caters for patients with specific dietary needs, but cultural and religious preferences also, which has been invaluable.
The hospital partnered with apetito in 2004, explains Smith, initially to avoid any disruption to the food service when a section of the hospital where the kitchen was situated was being redeveloped. However the move saw many positive benefits for the catering department that included the consistent quality of meals, an increase in patient satisfaction and reduction in food waste that has resulted in significant cost savings.
Meals are now cooked closer to the wards and served immediately at breakfast, lunch and dinner, which has ensured the quality of every meal is not compromised and the choice for patients has increased significantly.
While the hospital has always been able to cater for most patients, Smith says previously people would be admitted with specific nutritional or dietry needs that were more difficult to meet.
He adds: “There are foods that we couldn’t do 10 or 15 years ago that we can do now. apetito are able to provide us with that range. We also try to give patients with specific requirements the same amount of choices as a patient who doesn’t have any special dietary needs.”
apetito has provided every ward with a food folder for staff and patients to learn more about the range of meals, their nutritional content and any allergen advice. Each morning patients are presented with a menu card, on which there are always three hot choices – one of which is vegetarian. There is also a selection of sandwiches and salads, cold and hot sweets, as well as a soup. But, says Smith, if a patient does not fancy what’s on offer, they can browse the food folder for alternatives. Snacks are also available 24 hours, and on wards that don’t have regular mealtimes – such as maternity – it is possible to eat a hot meal any time of the day or night. At Musgrove Park, it is as much about the experience of mealtimes as it about the food.
Ward sister Jackee Phillips says the way meals are now provided at the hospital ensure clinical staff can provide an individualised food service for patients. She adds that the right diet is one of the most important factors in aiding recovery. “The meals are important because sometimes that is all they have to look forward to during their stay,” she says. “We try to do it very differently here and look for ways to encourage patients to eat.
“We do a walk around the ward 10 minutes before lunch to make sure patients are sat up or have got somewhere they would like to sit. We lay out a dining table and it is good for the patients to talk to their neighbours in the next bed and build up a bit of a rapport with people. It makes their stay much more enjoyable. If you are sitting with someone and eating, it becomes more of a social event.”
The success of the hospital’s food services has been a team effort, with the catering department working closely with staff on the ward. Phillips says since apetito’s meals were introduced, it has streamlined the process of serving meals and this boost in efficiency has improved patient care – and patient satisfaction. The kitchen, she adds, works closely with her team.
apetito provides assistance to the hospitals it works with to ensure they have the right equipment to cook the food and that meals are served correctly. Rosemarie Hoyle, apetito’s divisional manager for healthcare, says it is important for staff to have confidence in the meals they are serving to patients. She says one of the benefits of using the company as a supplier is that the food is made using set recipes, ensuring quality and nutritional value remains consistent.
Hoyle adds: “Quite a few staff have actually been to [apetito] and seen the [meals being] produced so that they can actually talk to the patients about it. That affects their whole approach to giving the food to the patient or even taking the patient order. If the patient can’t decide what to choose they can then recommend something they have enjoyed. That whole process just raises the profile of the catering service.”
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