Hospital patients in menu delight

Patients at a West Bromwich hospital were tucking into a new a la carte meal which was launched today.

A choice of more than 20 meals are now available at Sandwell Hospital in All Saints Way.

The menu has already been launched at Rowley Regis Hospital and will be available at City Hospital, on the Smethwick/Birmingham border, the week starting April 6.

Bosses at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust which runs the hospitals have launched the menu in a bid to make patients' stay more comfortable.

It will include roast turkey and seasoning, poached smoked haddock, Mediterranean vegetable quiche and chicken jalfrezi.

Last year health chiefs decided to change their food preparation system and voted to produce meals at a special unit in Rowley Regis Hospital.

Meals will be prepared at the site before being transported in chilled vans to Sandwell and the trust's other hospital site.

The changes have been brought in after a food review was launched to ensure patients receive meals that are high in quality, nutritious and tasty as well as meeting ethnic and religious re-quirements.

Steve Clarke, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust facilities director, said: "With a range of up to 25 different meal choices every day, we are catering for every taste – including ethnic preferences."