Edinburgh meal delivery firm Parsley Box hopes 'wellness packs' will cut bed-blocking

Parsley Box, the Edinburgh-based meal delivery firm, has created special food bundles to help older people to get back on their feet following hospital stays.

The firm hopes that the launch of its “wellness packs” across the UK will help alleviate the bed-blocking crisis in many hospitals. It follows a successful trial with the NHS Trust in Bath. The packs are said to provide nutritionally balanced meals that are easy to prepare including selections of traditional hearty meals, tastes of the world, and gluten-free options.

Thanks to the success of last year’s pilot scheme with the Bath trust, the older people’s charity Age UK and the local authority, Parsley Box will now offer these special food bundles across the UK. Various NHS boards and trusts have already shown interest in the wellness packs, including NHS Grampian, NHS Highlands and NHS Glasgow, the firm added.

In November, Parsley Box set out a roadmap to delist from the stock market following a rollercoaster ride since the group’s initial public offering in March 2021. Chief executive Kevin Dorren said: “The NHS is at crisis point, and we need to take a joined-up approach when considering how to free up hospital beds and get people safely back to the comfort of their own homes. Too often people stay in hospital longer than necessary due to concerns about being able to feed themselves at home when recuperating. Our wellness packs provide much-needed reassurance for older people and their families. They empower our customers to easily make tasty, balanced meals within minutes, as they can be quickly heated in the microwave or oven.”