Audio menus help visually impaired patients thanks to donation from LV=
New audio menus will help visually impaired patients to choose their meals in hospital. Clockwise L-R: Katherine Hart,
LV= Social Responsibility Manager; Val Horn, Sister for Elderly Medicine; Kevin Bailey, Catering Services Manager; Louise Jenkins, Acting Sister; Charles Locke, patient.
Visually impaired patients at Poole Hospital can now choose their meals from an audio menu thanks to an unusual donation from LV=.
The Bournemouth-based insurance company handed over 150 personal CD players to the Hospital, which have now been put to excellent use on the wards, giving patients with impaired sight more independence when choosing their meals. The Hospital also supplies menus to patients in large-print and Braille if required.
The quality and choice of food at Poole Hospital was rated as ‘excellent’ in a recent assessment from the Patient Environment Action Team. Patients are given a choice of 40 main course options every day, and the kitchens serve some 2,300 meals a day.
Kevin Bailey, Catering Services Manager, said: “We would like to thank LV= for their kind donation of the CD players, as well as the excellent work carried out by Dorset Blind Association in creating the CDs and Braille menus. The implementation of an audio menu empowers patients and means they can make their own choices, in their own time. That said, help is always on hand in our wards to assist any patient with the completion of their menu when needed.”
Katherine Hart, Social Responsibility Manager at LV=, said: “It is great to see the CD players in use at Poole Hospital benefiting patients. With our head office in Bournemouth we are keen to give back to our local communities and make a practical difference through gifts in kind and other support.”
Date: 20 October 2008