STAFF at the Orthopaedic are using their culinary skills to help the community.

The catering team at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) also provides community meal services for Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council and the day centre at Monkmoor Court in Oswestry.

The quality of food at the Gobowen-based hospital has been ranked as best in the country for the past 12 out of the last 13 years according to the results of the Care Quality Commission’s Adult Inpatient Survey.

Catering manager, Dan Hoggett, said: “As a department, we’ve been providing Selattyn and Gobowen Parish with meals for a number of years now and it’s fantastic we’ve recently been able to extend this service to support the residents of Monkmoor Court.

“We provide hot main meals for the community meal service which, where possible, are made with high-quality local and seasonal ingredients, and offer a main meal and a pudding.

“High-quality, healthy and nutritious food is vital for the elderly to help them stay as active and independent as possible, and as a team, we’re extremely proud of the food we produce.”

The meals on wheels service for Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council is a voluntary-led service with volunteers delivering meals to the elderly living in both villages, as well as Whittington, three times a week.

Jan Morgan-Birtles, clerk and responsible financial officer at Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council, said: “Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council are regular purchasers of meals from RJAH for our Community Meals Project.

“This project allows the Parish Council to offer a valuable service to residents who, for a variety of reasons, find themselves in need of a well-balanced, ready-prepared meal during the day.”

Age UK Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin support community meals at the day centre at Monkmoor Court, which is a retirement housing complex, every Thursday with their volunteers delivering and serving the meals.

Rachel Hurford, service development officer at Age UK Shropshire Telford and Wrekin, said: “We are delighted to be working with the catering team at RJAH to provide a nutritious two course hot meal for older people who attend our weekly day centre at Monkmoor Court.

“The meal service has been operating since February and all our day centre members enjoy the food. For some, this may only be the one hot meal they have all week so it’s important the food is not only tasty but full of nutrients.

“We rely on volunteers to deliver the meals to Monkmoor Court and would urge anyone keen to support older people to contact us if they can help on a Thursday.”

Dan added: “We’d be delighted to support other organisations, charities or local parishes who would like to provide a community meals service to their elderly residents.

“If you’re interested and would like more information around how we can help, please give the Catering Office a call on 01691 404504.”