Prioritising the frontline: Innovation in healthcare retail for efficiency gains

As a leader of an NHS Trust, driving efficiency improvements can be challenging when frontline teams are already time poor and run down. How do you deliver more when staff struggle to even find the time to eat and refuel - which has a knock-on effect for both productivity and patient care?  

These issues were highlighted in a recent survey of 8,573 health staff working in hospitals or mental health trusts throughout the UK¹. Of those queried for the study, it was revealed that 53% said they were unable to take regular breaks and 16% stated they only had enough time during busy shifts to eat snacks such as chocolate or crisps.

More so, the survey goes on to find that:

A report by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body² found that staff fatigue contributes directly and indirectly to patient harm, which can arise from factors such as insufficient rest facilities and inadequate rest breaks during and between shifts.  

Even when staff do get the opportunity for a break, it’s typically very short and often less than 30 minutes – during which staff need to leave their clinical areas, travel to onsite (or offsite) food facilities, order, collect and eat their meal. A recent Sodexo study discovered that ‘convenience’ and ‘quick to eat’ were two of the top three motivations when deciding on choice of food during a work break in healthcare.  

This research highlights that efforts must be made to be giving time back to workers to enhance their efficiency in the working environment. After all, it is clear that a person’s wellbeing can affect their productivity and delivery of their roles.

One way to improve the working environment is to ensure they have access to hot and cold food in a convenient and efficient way.  

Sodexo has recently introduced a brand-new digital restaurant concept to directly tackle these challenges. NHS Trusts, and those in the UK’s healthcare sector, will often discover that outsourcing can drive effective innovations and deliver efficiencies across many operations, including retail.  

As highlighted by NHS Shared Business Services³, outsourcing works in several areas as it: 

1. Allows resources to be freed up so that enhanced focus can be placed on frontline patient care.
2. Leverages AI and automation, which helps to achieve efficiencies and higher ROI.
3. Provides Trusts with access to adaptable and scalable services through a process that NHS Shared Business Services has deemed “one front door”.
4. Simplifies and standardises back-office functions to streamline operations.
5. Can safeguard employment to preserve local jobs. 

The new digital-Kitchen Works concept is an example of this in practice – helping those working in the NHS maximise their break times and recover from their demanding roles.

Philip Leigh, CEO of Health & Care at Sodexo, explains: “The new digital Kitchen Works restaurant has been designed to give time back to people, and to drive efficiencies for our hospital clients, their workforce and their users.  

The restaurant can already be seen in action at Colchester Hospital, where staff, frontline teams, patients and visitors alike will experience: 

• Less time queuing for food, as an app can be used to pre-order “food to order” or go through a “click and collect” service.
• Food being delivered to them within minutes to either eat in the restaurant or take away, should they order from one of the digital kiosks in operation at the hospital.
• A refreshing environment that comes complete with traditional mealtime seating arrangements, comfortable soft seats, community tables for team lunches, and staff breakout areas.
• Ready meals and a “grab-and-go” range of sandwiches, salad, soups, treats, and drinks being available for purchase on a 24/7 basis. 

Well-known high-street retail brands that provide convenience 

Choice is another key element in delivering a retail solution that helps people re-energise, fit their busy schedule and stay healthy. At Sodexo, we partner with a range of high-street retail brands, that bring the food people recognise right into the heart of their workplace, such as: 

• Greggs
• Costa Coffee
• Change Please Coffee
• SUBWAY®
• Starbucks. 

As well as delivering comfort and confidence, these brands are also supporting time-poor staff with initiatives that reduce wait times and drive efficiency in the workplace.    

When discussing retail challenges in healthcare settings, Richard Green, Head of Contract Catering at Costa Coffee, highlighted the need to serve more people faster with the likes of self-order kiosks to reduce queues in busy hospital stores.  

Stating that “hospitals tend to have some of the biggest click & collect rates across the whole Costa Universe”, Green pointed out: “A trial is just starting with a hospital delivery scheme, with a plan to make it a robot delivery scheme in the future.  

Outsourcing with Sodexo can help you to establish a new model of retail excellence throughout your Trust, transforming your facilities’ retail operations and driving efficiencies throughout your working environment. 

Retail innovation is seen to drive efficiencies and give much-needed time back to frontline team, improving their welfare in the process. Trust leaders must therefore do what they can to strategically enhance their hospital environment’s retail services for the wellbeing of all their stakeholders, including their workforce.

Find out more about our food services for NHS staff

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