Supermarket food for Worthing Hospital patients after kitchen roof collapse

The kitchens were closed late in the afternoon after accidental damage was caused to the ceiling during maintenance.

A temporary kitchen was set up while it was repaired over the weekend, eventually enabling the hospital to serve hot and cold food.

Checks on the damaged area also revealed low levels of asbestos had been exposed.

The levels were not high enough to require a site visit from NHS England, and the area has since been checked by an independent specialist.

Deputy chief executive Jane Farrell said: “Thankfully, the damage was relatively minor, and repairs were completed over the weekend.

“We established a temporary kitchen in the interim period so that we could continue to serve hot and cold food to patients – albeit not our regular menu – and individual arrangements were made for anyone with special dietary requirements.”