Staff at Nottingham hospitals are being offered hot meals for £2 as part of an initiative to help them cope with the cost of living crisis. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) said it launched the programme after becoming aware of some staff going without decent meals.
Now, more than 17,000 staff working for the trust, which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, can get at least one hot £2 meal a day. Staff can also add a dessert and a drink for an extra £1 each.
The trust said around 2,500 meals a week are being bought across three restaurants and are available 24/7. NUH said the move has been well received by staff since it was implemented in September.
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At the November board meeting, Chief Executive Anthony May said: “I can tell you anecdotally when I go to the restaurants the feedback is universally positive. It has gone down extremely well.”
Duncan Orme, Acting Chief Finance Officer, added that the queues for the food “are a sight to be seen”. In Mr May’s board report for November, he wrote that the trust is focusing on supporting staff with the cost of living crisis.
He added: “We are now working on additional new menu options in response to feedback and in the coming weeks we will provide a hot meal offer for colleagues at Ropewalk House.
“Negotiations are also taking place with our catering supplier to put in place an improved sandwich meal deal offer.” The trust added that meat and vegan options are available, as well as other dietary options.
Dr Neil Pease, Chief People Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Our staff work incredibly hard caring for people every day and we are committed to doing all we can to care for them.
“We know that the rising cost of living is putting additional pressures on our staff and our discounted hot meal offer is just one of the ways that we are supporting and investing in the health and wellbeing of our colleagues.”
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