St Peter’s Hospital has launched a new menu with a focus on nutrition for patients staying in hospital.

Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s new Essential Goodness menus have been designed in partnership with catering contractor OCS.

The improved food for inpatients is part of a new contract encompassing all catering for patients staying in hospital, outpatients, visitors and staff.

The menus use symbols to highlight options that are healthy eating, high energy and part of your five a day.

Specialist a la carte menus have also been launched to offer to offer halal, gluten-free, low potassium and puree foods.

Dorothy Moxon, a recent patient on Kingfisher ward, said: “The new menus are very good. It’s not easy catering for lots of different tastes and there’s always plenty of variety.

“I like old-fashioned food with lots of gravy – but the Hungarian goulash is good as well.”

Newly-introduced birthday cakes have also been a success as have free welcome home packs, which contain food and drink essentials for elderly and vulnerable patients who may not have the support to shop for food after they are discharged from hospital.