EVERY day, chefs at Nottingham's City Hospital create dishes calculated to provide a mammoth 4,000 calories for patients.
Cystic fibrosis patients often struggle to retain their weight, as their stomachs can be filled with excess mucus, preventing nutrition from food being absorbed into the body.
But at Nottingham's swanky new cystic fibrosis centre – unveiled in April this year – a team of three chefs has produced an extensive menu to help their patients.
"Hospital food has a bad name but we've designed a menu especially to help patients here," said chef John Edwards.
"It's 4,000 calories a day they need, compared to someone else who might need 1,800. Only half of the 4,000 calories will digest into their system, so they lose a lot of weight if we don't pack the calories in."
"We use high-calorie foods such as double cream and extra butter – and they have three proper cooked meals a day."
The state-of-the-art centre allows up to 16 patients to stay for two weeks when they suffer complications associated with the condition – for instance, struggling with a chest infection.
For John, who has worked in the catering side of operations at the hospital for ten years, the job can be very rewarding.
He explained: "Quite a lot of the patients say they don't eat this well at home.
"It's a very rewarding job because we do get reports back saying the majority of patients who come in have actually gained weight, and hearing that makes you think you are doing your job properly.
"It can be a bit of a struggle sometimes. Normally, the first couple of days are quite difficult for them to eat. But we try to build up a relationship where they trust us and like what we produce."
The team has a three-week menu with up to ten options available for each meal. A typical day's food might be:
Breakfast: Full English breakfast
Lunch: Lasagne with chips and vegetables followed by syrup sponge.
Dinner: Chicken balti with rice and potatoes followed by chocolate fudge cake.
In between the feasts, patients are allowed to have high-calorie snacks, including crisps, baguettes and pizza, up to six times a day.
Thirty-three-year-old John, of Basford, said: "It does keep us busy – but if it means the patients are going to eat the food, it's not a problem.
"There are always empty plates now.
"It's really rewarding – I think we're playing a vital role in their care."
Fran Corton, of Carlton, a specialist cystic fibrosis nurse at the centre, said there was clear evidence that the food made a difference.
She said: "It's very difficult for the patients to meet their calorie requirement, so it's down to the appetising menus and snacks and maximising their weight gain, which will lead to better health.
"There's a very definite link between weight and lung function."
"It makes a massive difference to patients and it's all very positive."
Mrs Corton, who has worked at the hospital for more than 20 years and has been a specialist in the field for more than 15 years, added: "Patients are generally in for two weeks plus, and it's repeated admissions, so patients will come back regularly.
"Part of the aim of the unit was to create a place that they would feel comfortable in and make it more like a home – and the food is part of that as well as clinical treatments."
Chris Rossell, of Cotgrave, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth and has spent the past two weeks in the centre.
The 20-year-old said: " I have been dealing with it all my life. It's more of an inconvenience and I don't let it interrupt my life too much.
"It's just one of those things I've got to deal with. I came in because my lung function was low."
He added: "The food has been great and the chefs are really friendly and nice and I've made friends with one of the chefs.
"It's better than normal hospital food, a lot better, and there's a personal touch with the chefs."
The team also offers to cook with patients to make them feel involved, change dishes to their taste and add new dishes.
Its work has been so appreciated by patients and colleagues that it has been shortlisted for an award.
The NUHonours awards 2014 recognise the best of care and compassion at Nottingham's hospitals and the team has been shortlisted in the final three for the estates and facilities category.
The person who nominated them anonymously said: "There aren't words enough to say how wonderful these three men are.
"They work tirelessly to promote good nutrition on the cystic fibrosis unit.
"Nothing is too much trouble.
"If a patient wants it, they go out of their way to try to provide it for them.
"They anticipate patients' needs, providing a totally patient-centred service.
"All the patients have praised them for their amazing food and can-do attitudes.
"Not only do they cook the food but they serve it, collect up the dishes and wash all the pots as well, with a smile on their faces."
IN April, the standard of care given to patients with cystic fibrosis at Nottingham hospitals was transformed from "rags to riches".
After years of campaigning and planning, a shiny, new £6.6 million centre offering treatment for 150 patients was unveiled.
Cystic fibrosis is a disease predominantly of young people. It damages many organs and its main effect is repeated chest infections, leading to scarring in the lungs. This results over time in respiratory failure, and the average survival currently is 42 years.
Now, patients with the condition will be treated in a "home in hospital", where 16 in-patient beds are available and patients can carry on as many aspects of normal life as possible while receiving the best clinical care.
Cystic fibrosis consultant Jane Dewar, who led the campaign for a new state-of-the-art centre, said: "When I was appointed as a consultant and head of service for the cystic fibrosis unit here, our nurses were in portable buildings and our patients had nothing in the way of facilities at all.
"I've spent the last ten years moving towards this moment, building up facilities, and in the last years we have developed the project, doing the fundraising to deliver it.
"It's been a huge piece of work as well as what we do every day.
"The service has gone from rags to riches; it's completely transformed the way we can work as a team with those patients and it's completely transformed the patients' experience."
