Sodexo, a leading global services company, has launched a braille menu for patients at Queen’s Hospital Romford.
The new menu has been introduced in each ward to ensure that patients with visual impairments can read the standard menu. Karen Ford-Sneddon, Sodexo Patient Dining manager at the hospital, said: “We truly care about our patients, and so are always looking for ways to improve how we meet individual patient needs and help ensure a patient’s stay is as comfortable as possible.
The introduction of a Braille menu is vital to empower our visually impaired patients and help them to feel welcome at mealtimes. We worked closely with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to make sure these menus were perfect for our customers.”
Adebowale Ogungbose, Ophthalmology lead nurse, added: “I am delighted at this great news that Braille menus will now be available on the wards. This will mean a lot to our blind and partially sighted patients, as it promotes independence, intellectual ability, and their interaction and freedoms, and enhances intellectual interaction and communication.”
Victoria Miles-Gale, head of Patient Experience, said: “We know that technology has helped to make information more accessible to blind and visually impaired people through ‘read aloud’ software and other advances. However, there are still a lot of blind and visually impaired people who read Braille, and we also know that if you are a Braille reader, provision of information in this way is welcome.”
The team is now working to introduce Braille menus across all hospitals where they deliver a patient dining service.
