The new menu has been introduced to each ward to ensure patients with visual impairments can read the food menu.
Karen Ford-Sneddon, Sodexo patient dining manager at Queen’s Hospital Romford, said: “We truly care about our patients and so are always looking for ways to improve how we meet individual patient needs and help ensure a patient’s stay is as comfortable as possible.
“The introduction of a braille menu is vital to empower our visually impaired patients and help them to feel welcome at mealtimes. We worked closely with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to make sure these menus were perfect for our customers.”
The Sodexo team are now aiming to introduce braille menus across all hospitals where they deliver a patient dining service.
Victoria Miles-Gale, head of patient experience, added: “We know that technology has helped to make information more accessible to blind and visually impaired people through read aloud software and other advances.
“However, there are still a lot of blind and visually impaired people who read braille and we also know that if you are a braille reader, provision of information in this way is welcome.”
As part of the five-year contract extension in April 2019 Sodexo initiated a series of ‘improvements and innovations’ in patient dining which aimed to enhance the patient experience. Sodexo introduced gluten free and vegan menus at Queen’s Hospital Romford to meet the growing demand from patients.