New scheme providing hot meals to NHS staff on the night shift

UHD are working with two local food companies Rob's Filling Station and Tattie McSpudface to trial a new scheme providing hot meals to staff working the night shift.

Charlie Jack, from Tattie McSpudface said: “The Tattie McSpudface team jumped at the chance to take part in this hot food trial as we saw it as a great way to support NHS staff.

"It's been a privilege working with such dedicated and lovely people and a pleasure to serve them healthy and nutritious food in the middle of a long nightshift.

"Given the positive feedback we have received and the excitement that has been created we are sure the trial will be a great success.”

Picture: Tattie McSpudface

Rob Eaton, from Rob’s Filling Station, said: “Rob’s Filling Station was set up at the beginning of the pandemic to fill a need in our community and we have gone from strength to strength with the support of our community.

"Our name was passed on and we were invited by UHD to be part of a forward-thinking hot food trial for our NHS night staff at Royal Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Hospital.

"We are honoured to have been given the opportunity to help in our community again because those who look after our nearest and dearest throughout the hardest hours of the day need our full support.”

Picture: Rob's Filling Station

Peter Gill, chief informatics and IT officer of University Hospitals Dorset, said: “The lack of hot food at night was reported to us via our culture champions who were told by staff this was a significant concern.

"Night staff required a variety of food to be reasonably priced and easy to access along with a comfortable area for them to enjoy their food. In January we ran our first trial for four nights, Friday to Monday, using external vendors.

"We then received staff feedback telling us how this could be improved. Based on this feedback we are currently in the middle of our second trial, running until 18 February.

“For this trial we have chosen vendors who can provide a variety of hot, healthy subsidised hot meals to our overnight staff for around £2-£5, similar to what our day staff pay in our restaurants and cafes.

“It is brilliant to see staff engaging with this trial, and we have had some incredibly positive feedback from our night-shift teams on the difference a hot meal has made to their busy evenings.

“We now aim to understand the weekday demand for hot food, the times staff would be eating, whether we can implement remote ordering and appropriate pricing.

"We realise how important it is for our staff to have access to affordable and nutritious food and we are determined to get this right for our hardworking teams.”