Toast back on the menu at West Mid

Toasters have not been seen at the hospital since it was redeveloped, having been responsible for setting off fire alarms and leading to unnecessary and inconvenient call-outs by the local fire service.

Yvonne Franks, director of nursing and midwifery, explained why they decided to bring back toast, she said: "The hospital's nutrition team ask patients what they think of the food at the hospital, and the patients have very clearly told us that they want toast. As a result of listening to our patients, it was decided to bring back toast. To many people, toast is a comfort food. It makes them feel better.

"Our patients as well as our nurses, told us that even if they can't face eating anything else, they could eat a little toast. The smell of toast can be an inducement to 'try a little something'. This ensures that the patient is receiving some nutrition, when the alternative is eating nothing, and hopefully improving their appetite and moving them on to a full diet."

Toast features heavily in a book called Food and Cookery for the Sick and there are many websites praising the benefits of toast when feeling unwell.

Before the toasters could return, the hospital went through a series of thorough checks, they undertook a risk assessment, did research on the best kind of toasters to use, looked at alternative methods for getting toast for the patients and worked closely with the health and safety team and fire officer to ensure the safe return of the favourite food stuff.

One major factor in the return of toast was the changeover of smoke detectors to heat detectors in certain areas to stop the false alarms.