Catering

The In-house Catering Department manage all aspects of the patient and retail Catering services across the Trust including;

• City Hospital
• Sandwell Hospital
• Rowley Regis Hospital
• Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre
• Sandwell Day Nursery

Our mission statement

The Catering department aims to provide an efficient, quality, value for money service to all patients, staff, visitors and external customers meeting the needs and expectations of its client group.

Providing a balanced, nutritional menu with a variety of meals using standardised recipes, to ensure consistent high standards in, quality, presentation and taste.

To prepare and cook meals in a safe, clean environment, to high standards of health and hygiene by trained members of staff.

Food safety

The Trust wholly accepts the legal duty to comply with the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006, including the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) Regulation 2020 the content of which is regarded as a minimum requirement.

In accordance with relevant legislation the Trust shall carry out its business hygienically and operate with due diligence at all times.

All retail units across SWB have achieved and maintained 5 star status from both Sandwell and Birmingham Environmental Health inspections

Feeling peckish? Why not visit one of our outlets today!

Our catering retail outlets across sites offer a variety of hot and cold food and drink items, accommodating your dietary requirements.

Sandwell Hospital

Hallam Restaurant (Interior Seating), Sandwell Hospital

Hallam Restaurant
Monday – Sunday: 7.30am – 6.30pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold meals, snacks and beverages. Self service continental breakfast bar and salad bar.

Crumbles Sandwich Bar
Tuesday to Thursday: 11.30am – 2pm

Serving a selection of handmade sandwiches and baguettes, freshly made to order. Located within Hallam Restaurant.

Outpatients Costa Coffee
Monday – Friday: 8.30am – 3.30pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold snacks and beverages. 

Main Reception Costa Coffee
Monday – Friday: 8am – 8pm
Saturday and Sunday: 11am – 5pm

Serving a selection of cold snacks and hot and cold beverages.

City Hospital

Arches Café, City Hospital

Arches Café
Monday – Sunday: 7.45am – 9pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold meals, snacks and beverages. 

Coffee Culture
Monday – Friday: 7.30am – 5pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold snacks and hot and cold beverages. Self service continental breakfast bar & salad bar. 

Boaters Costa Coffee
Monday – Friday: 8am – 5pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold meals, snacks and beverages. 

BTC Costa
Monday – Friday: 8.30am – 3pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold snacks and beverages. 

Coffee Pot, Rowley Regis Hospital

Rowley Regis Hospital

Coffee Pot
Monday – Friday: 9.30am – 2pm

Serving a selection of hot and cold food, snacks and beverages.

Patient meal times

When an inpatient at SWB, the Trust provides a scheduled patient catering service for all inpatients and relevant day case patients at all times.

Scheduled meals and/or snacks will be delivered according to agreed schedules as follows:

Patient snacks are also available on in-patient wards for consumption between mealtimes

At SWB, with the assistance of the nursing staff, all in patients order their chosen meal via the menu iPads twice daily for lunch and supper services.

Electronic ward meal ordering allows patients to order their preferred meal as close to the point of service as possible, including allergenic and dysphasic diets levels 7,6,5,4

Allergens

All reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent cross contamination in the raw materials used during the manufacturing process of our meals however due to the nature of the catering practices we cannot guarantee that the meals are free from allergens therefore we provide an allergy free patients menu with externally purchased allergy free meals.

If you have a known food allergy or food intolerance please inform a member of staff who will be able to offer further information

We accurately convey product data (ingredient and allergenic) as received from our suppliers of such products.

Dietery recommendations

It is important to eat a variety of foods to ensure you stay as healthy as possible.

We recommend that you eat, unless advised otherwise:

• Bread, cereals, potato, rice or pasta with every meal
• Include fish, meat, eggs, cheese, beans or pulses in your main meals
• 8 portions of fruit and vegetables a day

Should you have any comments on our services or are not satisfied with your meals we would be pleased to hear from you, and a visit from a member of the catering team can be requested via the ward staff

We are proud to be in partnership with Costa across Sandwell, City and Rowley Regis Hospital sites.

We have the traditional Barista machines at the following locations;

• BTC Costa – City
• Boaters Café – City
• OPD – Sandwell

We have the automatic ‘bean to cup’ machines at the following locations;

• Arches Café – City
• Coffee Culture – City
• Costa Main Reception – Sandwell
• Rowley Regis Coffee Pot – Rowley Regis

The Trust in-house Catering department is committed to making healthier food and drink options more widely available to itsconsumer groups in-line with CQUIN guidelines, ‘food and beverage choices that are lower in fat, salt and sugar’.

To aid your choice to a healthier lifestyle we provide “Healthier Options” and CQUIN compliant meals and snacks being 400 calories or less and not exceeding 5g of saturated fat per 100gms

We launched the ‘Choose Green’ campaign in November 2013 to promote healthier eating in all of our retail units.  This included the removal from sale of all sugary drinks replacing them with no sugar or no added sugar pops, juices and waters. Also the removal of crisps and some confectionary lines, replacing them with baked & low fat crisps, rice cakes and other low fat/sugar snacks.

Fresh fruit and low sugar snacks are available at the tills as an alternative to confectionary.

In January 2016 we launched ‘Green Meals’ in retail units offering a hot meal service, promoting meals that are low in fat, sugar and salt.

In April 2016 food vending machines with microwaves were introduced at Sandwell and City Hospitals with the facility to provide an out of hours hot meal service, the vending and microwave are available to all staff, offering a selection of healthy microwavable ready meals and snacks.

From April 2018 the Trust introduced a number of staff and visitor healthy ‘Meal Deals’ to include the promotion of low sugar pops, water and baked crisps with the sandwich lunch, promotion of fresh fruit, salad, low sugar drinks, water with the jacket potato lunch. Posters are printed and displayed in the retail areas and the catering staff promote the meal deals at the point of service.

These include the ‘5 Star Breakfast’, Daily Staff Special, Jacket Potato Meal Deal and Sandwich Meal Deal.

The Trust Catering department followed a number of leading brands in a bid to help reduce the amount of disposable coffee cups being used. The initiative has been a success and welcomed by many across the Trust sites, including the Trust Sustainability team.

Cutlery

From October 2018 the Trust Catering Departments ceased using single use plastic cutlery and replaced them with biodegradable wooden cutlery for all takeaway meals purchased within any of our retail outlets.  

Water bottles and cups

Our Harrogate Water Bottles sold across site are made from 50% recycled plastic – and are 100% recyclable.

You can also bring your reusable cup to any of our Catering retail units to save using paper cups and save 20p.

Remember your lunchbox

Alongside our initiative to bring your reusable cups, the Catering department are encouraging colleagues to bring their own lunchboxes in a further bid to reduce single use plastic across our Trust.

Sauce sachets

The Catering team are in the process of sourcing alternatives to sauce sachets, not only to reduce the amount of single use plastics but to offer products that contain less salt, sugar and fat.

As a result, you will start to see bottled sauces appear at the counters within the Catering retail units over the forthcoming months.