The story so far
Nottingham City Hospital has invested in a new kitchen to provide the 3,200 meals it needs to feed patients every day. The kitchen, which opened in September 2002, cost £850,000 and replaced the hospital's two former kitchens. Catering manager John Hughes has not only overseen the redesign of the kitchen facilities but is now firmly at the helm of the modernised operation.
The good news is that it's stopped raining in the potwash room, and it cost less than we expected to fix it," says John Hughes, catering manager at Nottingham City Hospital.
The mysterious rainfall that started in parts of the hospital's kitchen after its refurbishment last September was found to be the result of an unforeseen leak in steam pipes under the floor. Thanks to the patience of the potwash staff, cooking had continued throughout the internal precipitation, but a large sigh of relief has gone up since working life has returned to normal. And the work it took to rip up the floors, find the leak and re-tile the kitchen ceiling has cost £1,000 less than had initially been estimated.
Excitement in the kitchen is also rising with the anticipated arrival of new distribution trolleys. "The trolleys will be the final piece of the jigsaw in our new operation," says Hughes. "It's going to be a big morale booster for the ward service teams. They've seen the new kitchen and, although they've never complained, I know they must have been waiting their turn. They're going to be over the moon."
Already, the two or three trolleys being used and tested by the service team have resulted in a 10% rise in food temperature at ward level. The new trolleys will also make life a lot easier for staff. "The new trolleys are shorter and lower," says Hughes. "This means the food is easier to present to patients and easier for the staff to reach and serve."
Patient food at Nottingham City Hospital is served by ward attendants, who will cover all food and drink requirements from 7.30am to 7pm. The ward attendants serve the food, order snacks, wash up and clean down. "The reality is that patients often see more of the catering staff than they do clinical staff, so the ward attendant becomes a very important part of the patient experience," says Hughes. "What's more, we try to keep the same people on the same wards so they get to know the patients and their special needs."
On an intensive care ward, for example, food service can take on a very important and specialised role. "On a cancer ward, patients are often in isolation because of radio- and chemo-therapy," says Hughes. "In these kinds of situation, ward attendants can build very strong relationships with patients."
Ward catering attendants can also play an important role in a patient's rehabilitation and recovery process. On a stroke ward, for example, teaching patients how to relearn basic activities like eating at a table can take on a new significance. Unlike many modern hospitals, where space is at a premium, Nottingham also benefits from having specific dining areas.
"Dining rooms are not perceived as important when plans are drawn up for new hospitals," says Hughes. "This is because the reality is that the less capital put in to a hospital, the quicker the operation becomes profitable. This is why so many hospitals bring in external meal services, which are slightly more expensive to run but take up less space."
Hughes also makes sure he mentions the fact that the new distribution trolleys have been paid for by the hospital's ongoing retail efforts, a success story that recently saw it placed joint runner-up for the recent Self-Operated Staff Restaurant Award alongside Marks & Spencer.
"The Coffee City outlets are still going really well," he confirms. "This year we're even going to beat my forecast of £1.2m turnover, with £1.5m and a net profit of around 30-33%. Next year we expect to hit £1.8m out of the four outlets."
Factfile
Nottingham City Hospital
Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB
Tel: 0115 969 1169
Catering manager: John Hughes
Patient meals per day: about 3,200 (1,000-bed hospital)
Daily budget per patient: £2.50 (includes three meals, drinks and snacks)
Investment in new kitchen (including temporary kitchen during building): £850,000
Staff: 65 including 12 chefs
Coffee City outlet turnover: £1.5m