The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has been rated as the top cancer hospital in the country for its patient food, and one of the top UK hospitals overall, in a recent assessment.
The mandatory assessments of hospitals and healthcare settings, known as PLACE, which stands for Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment, involve patients, volunteers, Trust Governors and NHS workers from other hospitals, looking to ensure things like the patient environment supports the provision of care, privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness and general building maintenance.
Assessors gave our food at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool an impressive 98%, attributing the high score to factors including how quickly food was served, the taste, temperature and variety on the menu, which caters not only for food allergies and cultural needs but the often complex dietary requirements our patients have.
This score was the highest of any specialist cancer trust and within the top five scores in the country.
Wendy Gerrard is Dietetic Team Leader at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and one of many people who helped achieve this high score. She said: “These high scores are a testament to the work of lots of people across the Trust. It was a collaborative team effort. Particular thanks must go to Nikki Edwards, our Catering Manager for ISS, and Leanne McDowell, Catering Dietician for ISS, for all their hard work on our menus.”
Clatterbridge Ward Staff are now instrumental in supporting Ward Hostesses to making sure patients get their meals quickly. The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s Estates Team, Propcare, also made it possible for all food to be stored on site, instead of at another hospital, so patients almost always get their first choice of meal.
Wendy adds: “My team have worked closely with our new food suppliers, Apertito, who have helped us be able to provide a variety of tasty, nutritious food to our patients, who often have complex needs when it comes to eating, needing softer or wetter food for example if they struggle with swallowing or a dry mouth.
“Food is vitally important for hospital patients, not just for their health and nutrition, but for their quality of life. That’s why our teams have worked hard to meet our patients’ needs, including providing meals out of hours if they’ve not felt like eating or been having treatment, smaller meals for those with a decreased appetite and things like jelly and ice cream, which our patients enjoy if they’re having trouble swallowing or just fancy something sweet.
“Everyone involved in this project has had our patients’ experience and overall wellbeing at the forefront of their minds and I’m delighted the PLACE assessors have recognised our hard work with this fantastic score.”
Paddy McAteer, PropCare Assistant Facilities Manager at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool, added: “We’re delighted with our PLACE assessment results and we’ve made some great improvements. Our facilities partners ISS were instrumental in negotiating a contract with our new food supplier, Apertito, which has improved the overall quality of our food and all the team have worked really hard on making these improvements.
“There’s still lots of work to be done and further improvements to be made – for example, we are currently in the process of implementing a more sustainable process for the disposal of food packaging waste – but we’re proud of the strides we’ve made this past year”.
