A five-year contract worth an estimated £19m has been agreed between London North West Healthcare NHS Trust and Medirest, a specialist healthcare service.

Medirest is part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, and is the world’s largest provider of catering and support services.

The contract due to begin in March, will see a team of around 600 people deliver cleaning, patient catering, portering and security services.

Medirest will also introduce new innovations such as improved meal choices, improved portering response times and enhanced cleaning provision in both clinical and non-clinical areas.

Nigel Myhill, Director of Estates and Facilities at London North West Healthcare said: “We have taken the opportunity to bring the varying standards of these services under a single contract.

“This will improve the quality of the services we currently offer in patient meal choice, portering and cleaning standards while also achieving savings to help further improve the care and experience of patients.”

London North West Healthcare is one of the largest integrated care trusts in the UK, bringing together hospital and community services across Brent, Ealing and Harrow.

The new contract for Soft FM services will cover several hospital sites including; Northwick Park, Ealing and Central Middlesex.