Caboolture Hospital brings Diwali to patients with special menu

The staff in Caboolture Hospital’s ward 3C brought Diwali to 80-year-old patient, Usha Patel.

Diwali is an important religious festival originating in India which takes place annually and lasts for five days marking the start of the Hindu New Year.

Ward 3C Clinical Nurse Rosie Chand and the team had the idea of creating a special menu to celebrate Diwali, and approached Michelle Suter, Director of Dietetics and Food Services.

The food services team saw it as a great opportunity to highlight some of the existing menu options and added some extra items to mark the special occasion. The limited time Diwali menu is available for all patients to order from 23 October – 1 November.

The menu includes butter chicken, mild vegetable and chickpea curry and lentil casserole as the mains, vegetable Samosa and Naan Bread as side options, and a traditional Indian sweet dessert, Gulab Jamun, served with custard or ice-cream.

“We thought it was a great idea, and already had some of the items on the menu, it was just a matter of getting a few extra little things like the samosas, naan bread and dessert,” Michelle said.

“I even heard that a patient ordered the butter chicken for breakfast!”

The word Diwali or Deepvali as it’s sometimes called, means “row of lights” where people decorate their homes with lights and oil lamps.

Usha was born in Fiji, to Indian parents, and spoke of fond memories surrounding Diwali, and what it means to her.

“Be kind and talk to each other nicely – there should be no ill feelings, even if you have them, forget them,” Usha said,

“On the day of Diwali, we light a candle and pray for Lakshmi the goddess of wealth at 6pm.”

Usha felt sentimental as she reflected on Diwali celebrations when she was growing up and was grateful that the team had done something special for her on the ward.

“I wouldn’t have celebrated like this if I was at home, so this is very nice for me,” she said.