The charity Sophie's Legacy, in partnership with NHS England, has initiated a pilot project to provide meals for parents tending to their children in hospital.

The initiative, set to commence on July 26, 2024, seeks to alleviate the financial and emotional stress on parents confined to hospitals with their children by ensuring they receive adequate nutrition.

As a continuation of the pilot project launched in nine hospitals in 2023, an additional 15 hospitals have now come onboard.

The scheme, funded by Sophie's Legacy, showed a promising positive impact in its initial phase, with hospitals such as Great Ormond Street and Sheffield joining the ranks.

In 2023, the Children’s Hospital Alliance funded an eight to twelve-week pilot scheme across six hospitals in England.

The pilot saw several hospitals continue to serve parents and kick-start additional initiatives to maintain this practice.

Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Food Works Sheffield launched the Ready Meals Project, stocking each ward's freezers with locally preserved ready meals.

Currently, Sophie's Legacy, established by Stubbington's Charlotte Fairall after her ten-year-old daughter Sophie's tragic death from a rare form of cancer, aims to roll out this initiative nationally.

Over the past six months, the charity has collaborated with NHS England to further the project within the country.

In March 2024, NHS England called for interest expressions from hospitals across England.

Out of 26 applications, 15 hospitals were awarded £5,000 each from the £75,000 fund provided by Sophie's Legacy.

The project scheduled for twelve weeks promises at least two daily meals to a parent or carer.

Hospitals have the autonomy to implement the project as they consider most suitable, which could include offering ready meals, or providing vouchers for the hospital restaurant.

The hospitals are expected to show how they will continue to serve parents post-project and how they anticipate the scheme's impact for negotiating future funding.

Charlotte Fairall, CEO of Sophie’s Legacy, said: "I am pleased we have managed to get this project launched. The impact this will have on thousands of families across the 15 hospitals will be huge. No parent should have to go hungry when they are in hospitals with their child, and we are doing all we can to change this."