I have been working here for three years, and one of my targets has been to enable Royal Brompton to achieve a silver Food for Life award. The Trust has a big drive on the environment, sustainability and food waste, and achieving the silver Food for Life award is in line with our targets.
I set myself the target of achieving the award in two years, based off my previous experience in gaining bronze. A lot of work goes into choosing suppliers that can provide the right products at the right price while meeting the Food for Life standards.
Although I had previously selected suppliers, if there was an issue with stock for example, it took a lot of time to identify alternative products, adjust menus and manage budgeting spreadsheets. Colleagues at the Guys & St Thomas’ Trust introduced me to Pelican Procurement and I thought it would be ideal for me to have some support.
I don’t think I had estimated just how much support Pelican would be able to offer. The criteria for a silver award is to ensure that at least 5% of all food is organic. Having them on my side has resulted in many benefits for me- both for the award and in managing the overall procurement process and related efficiencies.
As a fresh cook site, I knew we had many things already in place. However, Pelican was able to support the product selection process, negotiate with suppliers and ensure we were not receiving non-compliant products while working within our budget.
Our client liaison, Mia Westwood at Pelican, knew exactly what we needed from a supplier. She also helped us calculate the declaration documents from suppliers about the origins of the products (Fair Trade, RSPCA assured & Red Tractor) that were required for the submission.
We achieved the silver standard within my timeframe and it has increased our patients satisfaction- we now have a 98% patient satisfaction score, which is a fantastic result. We advertise that we cook fresh and have the Red Tractor accreditation for supporting local suppliers.
It is a hit with patients and our staff; they understand that we care and place importance on offering healthy choices. It is so important for our staff that when they come for a break with us they can select a variety if healthy menu choices that give them everything they need to fuel their busy days.
If you want to achieve a Food for Life standard, it’s essential to have someone supporting you every step of the way. For me, having Pelican on my side was the single-most important factor towards us achieving this, and in such quick succession.
We are now preparing for the gold standard, and want to be among the first hospital Trusts to achieve this. It is just one of several projects I am looking at with Pelican at my side. The other is introducing a bedside menu ordering system called Picnic from Pelican.