Catering staff at United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust - including Grantham, Lincoln and Boston - serve over 2,000 meals to patients on Christmas Day

Catering staff are working hard to serve over 2,000 meals to hospital patients today for Christmas Day.

Preparations have been underway at United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH) to prepare the meals for the big day.

Team leader Patricia Hopkins, who has been leader with teams at Grantham and Lincoln, said: “Being in hospital at any time of the year can be hard, but especially at Christmas.

“We hope by putting in this extra effort over the festive period it lets our patients know that we want them to have as merry a Christmas as possible given the circumstances.”

The food, which will be served by around 3,000 staff, includes hundreds of turkeys, thousands of sprouts, a mountain of baby carrots, a tonne of potatoes, thousands of pigs in blankets, thousands of stuffing balls, a sea of gravy and much more.

Catering manager Adrian Barnett, from the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, said: “Our teams work extra hard over the festive period to give our patients the best Christmas we possibly can.

“Sometimes it’s the little extras that make a big difference.

“It is a really busy time of year for us, but we really do love it.

“There is a lot of love, care and attention that goes into preparing all of the food for patients and staff at Christmas.”

Thousands of festive treats will also be served, including mince pies, biscuits and other snacks.

Deputy director of estates and facilities, David Purdy, said: “Well done to our catering staff for all of the effort that has gone in so far, and especially on Christmas morning when they sacrifice spending time with their own family to make sure everyone in the hospital is able to have a Christmas dinner.”