A Revolution for Catering in Pilgrim Hospital

Last July the 550 bed district general hospital, which is part of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, switched from a plated patient meal system that had been in use for 15 years to a bulk regeneration service using equipment Facilities Lead, and John Spencer, Site Catering Manager supplied by Versigen. According to Clive Marriott, who are both Members of the HCA Trent Branch the transition has revolutionised Pilgrim’s food provision.

Pilgrim Hospital’s catering team continues to produce its own cook chill meals using locally sourced fresh ingredients as far as possible from its own Central Production Unit (CPU).

Previously the meals were plated cold in the kitchen then reheated at the ward. But now the food is transferred chilled in food shuttle buses to satellite ward kitchens where it is reheated when needed in Hostess Regeneration Trolleys and served fresh to patients by members of the housekeeping staff.

"The new system has made a tremendous difference to the quality of the food," says Clive. "The food we provided was always good but the old reheating system let it down. The meals tended to dry out on the plate which later made the crockery hard to wash and vegetables would turn soggy and discolour under the steel lids.

"The new hostess trolleys control the temperature to prevent burning or drying out and effectively finish the cooking process on the ward. So dishes such as cottage pie and lasagna have nice crisp tops and the vegetables can be served al dente, if that’s what we want."

John picks up the story. "The new system has also made a huge difference to the way we serve the meals. Basically we've turned the clock back to provide the sort of personalised service patients enjoyed 20 or 30 years ago with housekeeping staff on hand to serve them with what they fancy on the day and with the portion size they want straight from the hostess trolley.

When the new system was introduced, each ward had a chef on hand to give advice and assistance. But the housekeepers took to it very quickly and now they are enjoying the positive feedback and interaction with the

patients. Equally, the chefs have far more involvement with the patients and their individual requirements than they did before and they are always happy to pop up to the ward as needed."

John continues, "Before we undertook the work we consulted patients and other stakeholders about meal provisions and they told us they wanted a more personal service. The response to the new system we've had in recent months has been tremendous.

"Now we're in the process of designing new menus and creating new dishes based on what they've told us they want to eat. The traditional meals like pies and casseroles are very popular in this area but we’re also introducing a range of ethnic menus as well as a gluten free range."

CPU upgrade

The CPU at Pilgrim Hospital produces 90,000 meals a month not only for its own patients, staff and visitors but also for Grantham and District Hospital and two Primary Care Trust units - Skegness and District Hospital and Welland Hospital in Spalding.

The facility has also undergone a revamp, with extensive redecoration and the replacement of old equipment and has now received EC approval to produce Cook Chill Meals commercially.

Clive notes, "We replaced the blast chiller units with new double capacity, state-of-the-art technology for the safe cooling of cooked foods. The equipment we've installed complies with all health and safety regulations and from an energy efficiency point of view is very efficient.

"We've started the final stage of the work to refurbish the high risk area of the CPU with a new floor, ceilingand walls which will leave us with a facility capable of competing with any food factory."

He adds, "We now feel we have a very efficient CPU as well as a great team of staff to take us forward and source new business for the unit."

Visitor facilities

The catering facilities for visitors and staff have not been overlooked. The former outpatients' coffee shop was the first to be refurbished and it reopened in November 2007.

Clive expands, "The outlet was previously run by volunteers, but there were problems maintaining opening hours so we took it back under our control. Members of the catering team took on its staffing, adapting well to the retail side of catering, and they have used their skills to enhance its offering. The facility is now highly regarded within the hospital and recently it won a 'Gold Award for Hygiene' from Boston Council."

Then, last May, as part of the redevelopment of the hospital's main entrance, the Pilgrim Pantry - a popular coffee shop and meeting space for staff and visitors since 1984 - reopened after a five-week closure with a newly extended kitchen and redesigned food and drink service counters, as well as a new-look seating area for 48 covers.

"The catering assistants manning all our retail outlets have really taken ownership of the facilities and they are committed to building good customer relationships," continues Clive. "It's partly as a result of this dedication that both outlets are now running at a profit with takings this year up by 20 per cent over what they were previously."

Both Clive and John are delighted with the changes that have been implemented in catering over the past two years. "We have had tremendous support from Gary Walker, Trust Chief Executive and Mike Speakman, Director of Facilities, as well as the heads of nursing when it came to trialing new equipment. They all understood the need for change and backed our proposals all the way," Clive notes.

And he concluded by extending an invitation to HCA Members to visit Pilgrim Hospital to see for themselves what has been achieved.