Youngsters at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) have been given a fresh way to eat healthy food with their families thanks to a new meals-on-wheels service supported by The ARCHIE Foundation.
Under the innovative scheme, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, children receiving treatment at the hospital are invited to join other patients and their families in a communal dining area, where they can pick what they want for lunch or dinner from specially designed mobile delicatessens.
The deli carts – paid for by The ARCHIE Foundation, the official charity of RACH – have been tailor-made for younger diners, and offer a huge range of food, hand-selected by nutritionists to help sick children eat their way back to good health with filling, nutritious meals.
Operated by NHS Grampian, the project officially launched at RACH yesterday and is available seven days a week.
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary catering manager Stuart Donald said: “Instead of just improving what we had, we decided to start from the ground up and innovate our service completely.
“Patients can choose from a whole range of wraps, sandwiches, rolls, toasties and any fillings they like, as well as a soup of the day.
“It offers more selection, and gives kids more control.
“Children are picky at the best of times, so having to order your meal from a paper menu hours before you actually eat wasn’t the best solution for our young patients at RACH.
“There’s also a social aspect too – it gets children out of their beds and out of their rooms, interacting with other kids and making new friendships.”
Callum Dawes, a 10-year-old patient at the hospital, said: “I don’t like butter in my sandwiches, but now I can ask to have sandwiches just how I like. There’s quite a lot to pick from, and I like to have their ham and tuna rolls.”
David Cunningham, chief executive of The ARCHIE Foundation, said: “Hospital food deserves more credit than it gets but tempting young appetites in a hospital environment can require a bit of lateral thinking so we are delighted to be involved with this ground-breaking initiative.”
