Patients will have a happier stay in an Eastbourne hospital thanks to improvements made to meal times.

National research into patient care was carried out across the country and bosses at Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH) have already started making improvements.

Since May last year researchers have worked with patients on the East Dean and Seaford One wards to find out what can be done to improve their stay.

Meal times have been a key issue, especially for those who have trouble eating.

Food often has to be pureed but patients told researchers they would prefer the separate parts of the meal to be served individually.

Stuart Barnhill, facilities manager at the DGH said: "We're really pleased such a small change is making a big difference to meal times for patients. Not only are patients more willing to eat the pureed meals but they have told us they feel more "normal" being able to eat food that looks broadly similar to what other patients are eating.

"We've already extended this change to all wards at the DGH and are continuing to investigate other improvements, the use of different crockery for example, to make food stand out better against the plates."

Dieticians and speech therapists have been working with hospital chefs to make sure the consistency of food is right, to help with swallowing.