Peggy’s taste for new flavours

A young resident at Strode Park Foundation’s Canterbury home is thriving thanks to a new innovative device to help her with tasting food.

Peggy, who has lived at Footprints since September 2023, has been using a new device called Biozoon, which turns liquid into intensely flavoured foam bubbles that then instantly dissolve without the need to swallow which allows Peggy to get the tastes of her favourite flavours.

Deputy Home Manager, Tara Ludgate, said: “Since Peggy moved into Footprints, the staff have worked tirelessly to support her to regain aspects of her life back after a sharp decline in her health. We’re over the moon that this new technology has worked, and that Peggy is once again enjoying her foods like she should do.”

Peggy, 23, moved into the home in Stodmarsh Road, Canterbury, after a decline in her health that resulted in her being nil by mouth and needing a PEG (feeding tube) inserted. She was also bed bound due her health.

Tara added: “Due to the hard work of all the team and support from multiple outside professionals Peggy is now able to spend over an hour twice a day in her wheelchair, socialising with her peers, enjoying the outside, the sunshine and has recently enjoyed a trip out. Peggy’s smile from ear to ear is why we’re here and we do the work we do. I’d like to say well done to the team for bring this new technology in and allowing Peggy to live life the way she chooses. This is Strode Park’s mission and we will continue to support every service user to meet this level of need.

“Peggy used to really enjoy her food, she has missed this pleasure in her life for more than a year. But after liaising with a clinical lead Speech and Language Therapist we found the Biozoon device, also known as tastes for pleasure, and Peggy hasn’t looked back since.

“She absolutely loves it too. She is now using her eyes to choose which flavour she wants, she is engaged and excited and my staff have found multiple different flavours of drinks meaning she has so many different choices.”

Since using the Biozoon, Peggy has now been referred with the hope to allow her to start enjoying tasters. A huge team effort has allowed all this to happen as well Peggy’s own determination and strength.

Director of Care, Becky Richards, said: “I am immensely impressed and proud of my team for thinking outside of the box to provide Peggy with this experiences that she would otherwise no longer have. This is another example of outstanding care that we are all striving for.”