Furness General Hospital (FGH) is ahead of the game once again by becoming one of the first hospitals in the country to trial a new set of NHS plates, dishes and cups which could be rolled out nationally if they prove to be a hit with patients.University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) has been working with members of the HCA – a national group of catering managers – and NHS Supplies, to help design a range of coloured crockery sets.
If the crockery is well received by patients then the new coloured crockery sets will feature in the national NHS catalogue allowing any hospital in the UK to order them. Barry Rigg, Community Engagement and Volunteer Manager at UHMBT, said: “NHS Supplies approached us and asked whether we would be willing to trial the new NHS crockery to see how our patients felt about it. We were happy to help and agreed that Ward 7 at FGH would use the new plates and dishes for patient mealtimes, for an initial two week trial period. We will then feedback to NHS Supplies on how the new proposed crockery sets were received by our patients.
Pat Thompson from Barrow in Furness said: “The new plates are lovey, they are nice and bright, I have never had any problems with the food here it all great. These new plates feel like I am in a nice fancy restaurant”.
Barry recently shared photographs of two identical meals cooked by the catering team at FGH on his Twitter page – one on the old style’ white NHS crockery and the other on the new colourful crockery. He said: “I shared the two photographs on Twitter because I wanted to get some initial feedback from my followers. Lots of people got in touch in response to the post and the results were definitive – people preferred the new colour crockery set. It will be interesting to find out in the coming weeks whether this opinion is shared by our patients in hospital.”
Executive Chief Nurse, Sue Smith said: “We all know that good nutrition is key – especially for those that are poorly in hospital. Some find mealtimes harder than others so this new crockery has been developed to assist those patients who may need additional support. For example, there is a new high-sided plate which will make it easier for patients with limited dexterity or who eat using one hand. “The use of colour on the crockery has also been proven to help stimulate interest in patients with dementia so we are really interested in getting feedback from those patients and their families on how they find the new crockery and whether it does help them at all-important mealtimes.”