Worksop community give thumbs up to new menu for Bassetlaw Hospital patients

The sessions, which were held at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital and Montagu Hospital, provided an opportunity to listen to local people’s thoughts on the new-look menu, and understand what needs to be improved in future.

The food options were scored by the volunteers according to how well they rated the taste, texture, and the temperature of the meals served.

The Trust’s learning disability lead, Simon Brown, was keen to invite members of the community who would be able to provide insights into any additional requirements or support that a patient might need.

The learning disability liaison nurses contacted some of the local learning disability support services and asked if they could help recruit volunteers to visit their local hospital to take part in the tasting sessions.

Evie Messom, learning disability liaison nurse at DBTH, said: “As a Trust, we recognise that meeting the nutritional needs of all is vital in maintaining and improving our patient’s health and wellbeing.

"For those living with a learning disability, they may require additional reasonable adjustments to support safe nutrition. They may also have additional sensory needs that impact on patients experience of foods.

“We included our local community with learning disabilities to help us better understand the diverse needs of all and ensure that adjustments have been considered in menu planning.

"It is important to us that our food offer is right for everyone and those with learning disabilities can have their voices heard as part of our improvement plans.”

Simon Brown, acting deputy chief nurse and learning disability lead, said: “By collaborating and engaging with patients in the decision-making process, it helps us to make better decisions regarding a patients experience and care.

“I am fortunate to work alongside a dynamic team of two acute learning disability liaison nurses and a network of 120 learning disability ambassadors, who are key to ensuring we deliver an outstanding experience to our most vulnerable patients, this is one of many examples of patient engagements which has proved beneficial for our Trust and our community.”