The catering team at Hinchingbrooke Hospital has won an industry award for the “high quality and nutritional value of its meals”.

The team, pictured, has won the Health Business hospital catering award and this follows the department’s accreditation with the Soil Association’s gold award, the first in-house NHS catering team to win the accolade.

Hinchingbrooke says this is an independent endorsement of its drive to use fresh ingredients, which are free from harmful additives and better for animal welfare.

All the meat used in meals is from red tractor farms, milk and eggs are organic and all fish is Marine Steward Certified (MSC), with 80 per cent of ingredients sourced from local suppliers.

Hospital chief executive Lance McCarthy said: “We were delighted to win the hospital catering award at this year’s Health Business Awards.

Good nutrition plays a vital role in a patient’s recovery. Our catering team really understand the importance of good nutrition and are committed to providing the best quality produce to help improve patient and staff well-being.

In the last year we have seen patient satisfaction levels rise to more than 96 per cent. This is a result of the team’s determination to provide our patients with high-quality, healthy food that meets their nutritional needs.”