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CATERING FOR ALL NEEDS
Situated alongside the hospital’s restaurant and staff rest area the 24/7 Deli offers 55 food items and 15 hot drink items sourced from small and medium enterprises and with sustainability at the centre of the offering.
The hot drink offer is provided by Change Please, a social enterprise which invests all of its profits to provide homeless people with housing, training and a living wage. Currently offering 18 options for barista coffee, loose leaf tea and hot chocolate, the customer is able to tailor their drink to their taste. For example, they can select the strength of the coffee they choose. The machine also allows the customer to use their own cup and has a low energy consumption.
For smoothies and soups customers Alberts uses robotics technology that prepares popular blends for fresh smoothies, hot soups and vegan shakes. Customers can choose from popular choices or by using Alberts app they can customise their choice. The machine uses frozen ingredients which retain the nutrients in the fruit or vegetable and minimises waste. A unique smoothie machine enables the customer to choose from six popular flavours or if they prefer they can create their own option.
Hot meals are available in a matter of minutes, thanks to the infrared and microwaves built into the machines. Among the options available are popular items such as stone-baked pizzas and crispy fries as well as main meals including:
Chicken paella- Sweet potato and spinach korma
- Smokey chipotle meatballs
- Roasted aubergine in creole sauce
- Jerk chicken with rice & peas
- Mauritian chicken curry
- French beef stew
The hot meal options are sourced from Field Doctor (Somerset) which provides dietitian-designed, chef-prepared frozen meals and African and Caribbean specialist meal provider Coco Labelle, with a comprehensive range of popular bakery items supplied by Jake & Nayns.
Also available are sweet and savoury bakery goods and ice desserts. Dishes include allergen-free, healthy choices, halal, vegetarian and vegan options.
The meals on offer can be tailored to suit a hospital’s site population and any particular dietary requirements.
Royal Stoke’s deli is proving popular with 35 per cent of sales occurring during 8pm to 8am and 25 per cent over the traditional lunchtime period of 1-3pm.
Tracy Bullock, CEO of the University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust says: “It’s always great to be the first in the country to do something and we are the first Trust in the country to have these Deli machines.
“One of our key objectives as a Trust is the wellbeing of staff and we know that they have been through a difficult number of years, and so one of the key things we want to make sure of is that our staff can access nutritious hot food 24/7, seven days a week throughout the whole of the year and we’ve now got that facility to enable that.
“I’ve received very positive feedback in terms of the quality of the food, it does come out piping hot and staff are pleased with it.”
CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
The Deli is the first of its kind in the UK and was invented by SV365 Technologies, which aims to support small to medium enterprises, cut costs for consumers, and to reduce waste.
Using cutting edge technology the Deli provides an automatic food court that can be left unattended and with one stylish unit housing the seven machines the Deli helps provide a relaxing environment for hospital staff and visitors to take a break and refuel.
SV365 provide a fully managed service to Sodexo and the Trust which includes the supply and fill of all products, stock management, cleaning and maintenance, technical support and waste removal. The suppliers deliver the products to a central hub which is then transported to the hospital, this reduces the number of deliveries being made to the busy hospital site.
The new automated retail solution not only enhances customer choice and improves the food options available throughout the day, but it supports the requirement for hospitals to provide 24 hours access to nutritious food and drink as mandated in the new National Healthcare Food & Drink Standards published in November 2022.
Walter Gill is the Co-Founder of SV365 Technologies, said: “We are thrilled that our 24/7 Deli is the first to be rolled out in the healthcare sector in 2023. Over the years we have scoured the world finding the newest, most exciting technologies to deliver the best quality automated food solutions for our partners. Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that it is the market leader in automated retail technology, providing customers with a convenient and accessible way to purchase fresh food & drinks. The 24/7 Deli provides nutritionally balanced food choices which meet or exceed NHS nutritional standards whilst tasting great.”
Sodexo Health & Care provides some 5.2 million meals a year across 53 hospitals. It continuously reviews and evolve its offers to support NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers meet the new standards.
Sodexo is the first provider in the UK to offer this ground-breaking automated retail solution and is looking forward to sharing its success with other NHS Trusts.
USEFUL LINKS
Royal Stoke Hospital 24/7 Deli: https://youtu.be/5TybGO1utt8
National Standards for Healthcare Food & drink https://bit.ly/3rzRPB9
Change Please: https://changeplease.org/
Alberts: https://alberts.be/en-gb/home/
Field Doctor: https://www.fielddoctor.co.uk/
Coco Labelle: https://feast-it.com/suppliers/coco-labelle
Jake & Nayns: https://jakeandnayns.com/
