How Thomas enhances the patient experience
Thomas Dodd blends his expertise in food and nutrition with his client relationship skills to enhance the patient experience.
Food has always been Tom's passion, so his natural course after graduating from secondary school (high school) was to become a chef. Tom trained for two years, and became fascinated with food’s role in health and wellbeing. This led him to complete college-level studies in science, and then a bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition & Dietetics in 2016.
Empowering Patients
Tom's first role as a dietitian was with the University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust (also known as the Royal Stoke University Hospital) in Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom. With 1,300 beds, it is a large, bustling hospital devoted to trauma response, acute medicine, surgery, elderly care and gastroenterology. Tom specialized in renal care, empowering patients to manage their health conditions through nutrition and medicine. During this time, his role role was part-funded by Sodexo to support the delivery and planning of catering services, ensuring compliance with hospital food standards.
In 2019, Tom was recruited by Sodexo to become the Catering Dietitian at four hospitals. In this new role with Sodexo, he continued to support Royal Stoke, but added Queens Hospital in Romford (940 beds), Birmingham Children’s Hospital (220 beds), and Hereford Hospital (200 beds) to his responsibilities. This created a new dimension because every hospital was different. Each had their own medical specialties and food delivery methods, and of course the patients at two of the hospitals included children, which Tom found very rewarding.
Speak Up
Tom soaked up every experience. He enjoyed building relationships with all the people who made the hospitals hum, including Sodexo’s clients, dietitians, head nurses, and speech and language therapists. Tom became interested in running the operation, and shared his career goals with management.
A year later, in December 2020, he had a major career-making moment. Unexpectedly, he was asked to step in as Sodexo’s General Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, a role that was later formalised. Overnight, Tom went from managing himself to managing a team of 40 people responsible for serving patients and visitors at our restaurant and three cafes.
It was daunting leap for Tom, but he was bolstered by the confidence the management team had in him. Tom describes them as a 'tremendous support' and 'experts he can call upon when needed'. While Tom has deep expertise in food and nutrition, he recognisies that he must build his management skills.
Patients First
The main premise which Tom always remembers is that the patients and their families come first. With this in mind, Tom's team has implemented service improvement plans. Hitting the patient experience goals, and seeing the team get compliments, is what gives him the most satisfaction.
Tom's advice to anyone just starting out in their careers or thinking about a career pivot is to speak up and take risks. He said if he hadn’t shared his interest in expanding my role, he would 'most likely still be a dietitian'.
Looking to the future
Following the publication of the National Standards of Hospital Food and Drink, which put nutrition at the heart of the staff and patient dining experience, Tom will work in partnership with his client at Birmingham Children’s Hospital to provide the best possible dining experience for patients. With a focus on continuous improvement, Tom and his team look forward to sharing new developments over the coming weeks and months, which will not only help meet, but exceed the standards.
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