Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals have entered into a partnership with Sodexo, the world’s largest services company, for its patient dining and retail services. The 10 year contract will bring with it significant investment in food and eating facilities provided for patients, staff and visitors.
Working within this new partnership, catering services at the Trust will see huge improvements, with high street eateries set to open their doors within the coming months, while inpatients will benefit from a revamped, innovative and tasty dining service.
One such culinary development will see patients using a new electronic ordering system, giving those staying at the Trust the ability to place an order for a meal up to two hours before it is served. By making use of innovative tech, the hospital’s kitchens will also receive real-time data from patients who may wish to cancel or change their order, contributing to a significant reduction in food waste. This information will also be used to develop menus, making sure patients receive tasty, high quality meals.
New meal trolleys will also be introduced, providing a seamless service from kitchen to bedside, ensuring appetising patient food arrives on time and at the right temperature.
These enhancements will be made following refurbishments to Doncaster Royal Infirmary’s kitchens, while both Bassetlaw and Montagu will also see further investment to ensure the catering team have everything they need to delight the taste buds of patients, staff and visitors.
While working with a new partner brings with it some change, the Trust has placed great emphasis on ensuring the current catering team will retain a role within the organisation. Under the terms of the new partnership, existing catering staff from DBTH will transfer to the new provider under Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment (TUPE) and will retain NHS benefits such as their pension.
Dr Kirsty Edmondson Jones, Director of Estates and Facilities at the Trust, said: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Sodexo. It is our intention to provide the best possible catering services for those who come to our hospitals and we believe this investment will allow us to offer a top notch and varied dining experience for the people of Doncaster, Bassetlaw and beyond.”
Over the past number of years, our catering offer has remained quite static, without much development. By partnering with Sodexo we will benefit from investment in our facilities, as well as the introduction of technology into our food ordering process, ensuring our patients benefit from an innovative and tasty new service.”
The Trust’s current catering services have remained static for a number of years. The improvements will also see expanded opening hours, meaning that staff working nights will find it easier to get a bite to eat during breaks, while retailers such as Costa Coffee and Subway will also be available offering a high-street alternative to the hospital’s restaurants.
James Taylor, CEO of Sodexo Healthcare, said: “I am delighted that the Trust has appointed the Sodexo team as their first external catering provider. We see this as an opportunity to collaborate with the Trust to deliver a first-class experience for patients, staff and visitors.”
Recognised as one of the top health care catering providers, the contract was awarded to Sodexo following a competitive and robust tendering process, as well as a number of ‘tasting sessions’ with patients, the public and governors.
Work will begin to refurbish the Trust’s catering services in the coming weeks.