George shares this latest news on behalf of Friends of St Mary’s Hospital. Ed
The comprehensive way shops and cafes run by the Friends of St Mary’s Hospital have embraced the nation-wide Sugar Smart campaign, to counter obesity and tooth decay, has won widespread praise from members of the hospital trust.
Lesley Myland, chairman of the Friends, a registered charity mostly comprising volunteers, said,
“We seem to have been well ahead of the game on the Island, and I feel very proud of our team.”
Recognised for Sugar Smart work
Already the Friends’ initiative has been recognised by the awarding of a certificate from the Isle of Wight Council’s public health department, which is leading the Island’s response to the national campaign.
This campaign not only focuses on raising awareness of the impact of 
sugar consumption on health, but also develops strategies to promote healthier choices.
“Many of us are consuming too much sugar, especially children,” states the initiative report. After pointing out that obesity was associated with a range of social and health problems, including children’s dental decay, the report added the annual cost to the country was estimated at £27-million.
Hard-working manager
Lesley said that the Friends were fortunate in having Lisa Brodie as the ‘creative and responsive’ foyer-based shop manager,
“Lisa has worked really hard on all the alternatives and keeping the shop and café buzzing.”
The Friends have now been asked to share their ideas.
Healthy options
Lisa explained that healthy options were being offered across the board. One example of cutting sugar intake was to no longer sell multi-packs of chocolates and large bars of chocolate.
While chocolate and other sugary sweets were still available they were displayed less prominently in the Friends shops and on the ward-visiting trolleys. In addition, displayed on the wall below the café counter was a long ‘healthy eating’ stick-on banner, created by the hospital’s Print Unit.
Image: Foyer based manager Lisa Brodie holds some of the healthy eating options
