Sodexo has partnered with unattended retail experts, SV365 Technologies, to be the first provider in the UK to offer the ground-breaking automated retail solution, the 24/7 Deli, enabling frontline healthcare workers and visitors access to fresh, nutritious hot and cold food options throughout the day and night.
The announcement comes in Nutrition and Hydration Week 2023, an annual event to focus energies and create activity and engagement to promote nutrition and hydration as a fundamental element to maintaining health and wellbeing within health and social care. This innovative solution will help to boost staff morale, improve their wellbeing, and ultimately enhance the quality of patient care.
This new solution available from Sodexo and SV365 Technologies will enable hospitals to meet the nutrition and hydration needs of staff and visitors no matter what time, day or night. A vast array of food and drink will be available providing on demand, fresh smoothies and soups, a healthy hot meal range including curries, paella, jerk chicken, stews, alongside Italian stone baked pizzas, sweet and savoury bakery goods and delicious ice desserts. Dishes include allergen-free, healthy choices, vegetarian and vegan options and can be tailored to suit the site population and particular dietary requirements.
Simon Lilley, Director of Strategy & Marketing, Health & Care Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: “We were honoured to have been part of the working group which developed the new National Healthcare Food & Drink Standards and although the focus is rightly on improving the wellbeing and recovery of patients it is just as important to do the same for those caring for them.
“As NHS providers work towards achieving the final eight standards, as a strategic partner to many we know how important it is for us to continue to innovate and to provide new and exciting initiatives such as the 24/7 Deli. Nutrition is a key part of our expertise, and this new automated retail solution will ensure we can play our part every day, by serving a selection of hot and cold food around the clock for frontline teams, visitors and patients.
“The first 24/7 Deli is expected to go live in a major acute hospital in the coming month”
The hot drinks system offered has been developed in partnership with Change Please, a social enterprise which invests all its profits to provide homeless people with housing, training and a living wage.
SV365 Technologies’ automated retail solution not only enhances customer choice and improves the food options available throughout the day, but it supports the requirement for hospitals to provide 24 hours access to nutritious food and drink as mandated in the new National Healthcare Food & Drink Standards published in November 2022.
Walter Gill, Co-Founder of SV 365 Technologies, said: “We are thrilled to introduce our latest product, the 24/7 Deli, our first to be rolled out in the healthcare sector in 2023. Over the years we have scoured the world finding the newest, most exciting technologies to deliver the best quality automated food solutions for our partners. Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that it is the market leader in automated retail technology, providing customers with a convenient and accessible way to purchase fresh food & drinks. The 24/7 Deli provides nutritionally balanced food choices which meet or exceed NHS nutritional standards whilst tasting great.”
Sodexo’s Simon Lilley recently spoke to Phil Shelley, Senior Operational & Policy Manager at NHS England and Chair of the Food Review, about the new standards, why they’re important and how they’ll be measured. Watch the interview here: https://sodexouki.info/HCPSsv365
Sodexo Health & Care provides some 5.2 million meals a year across 53 hospitals. It continuously reviews and evolve its offers to support NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers meet the new standards.
