Cafe at Warwick Hospital could stop selling sugary drinks

Volunteers running a coffee bar at Warwick Hospital are to be asked to stop selling sugary drinks.
Warwick Hospital's cafe could stop selling sugary drinksWarwick Hospital's cafe could stop selling sugary drinks
Warwick Hospital's cafe could stop selling sugary drinks

Guidelines laid out by NHS England say food outlets in hospitals should promote a healthy diet by making 70 per cent of drinks on offer sugar free.

But they also challenge the coffee shops and cafes to reduce sales of such items to fewer than 10 per cent.

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A visit to the three South Warwickshire NHS Trust hospitals by someone from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) found that the targets were being met apart from at the Red Cross premises at Warwick where customers continued to opt for the sugary drinks.

The latest board meeting of the Trust heard that other hospital outlets only stocked the healthier options and that will be the message sent to Warwick’s volunteers.

Trust chairman Russell Hardy said: “We don’t want full-fat versions stocked. Customers with sugar addictions will always choose the full-fat version. We need to tell them that they can only stock diet versions.”

Other areas where the targets were met included making sure that 60 per cent of sweets and confectionery had less than 250 calories and that the same proportion of pre-packed sandwiches and other savoury items contained 400 calories or less per serving.

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Mr Hardy did praise caterers ISS who had worked with hospital dieticians to come up with healthier food in the staff canteen.

He said: “I have been incredibly impressed over the last year in the way that ISS have revolutionised the menu in the canteen. I am truly impressed by both the quality and the healthiness of the food served. There is real progress being made here.”