A catering team of unsung heroes has been hard at work behind the scenes to ensure patients across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde gets to celebrate Christmas day with a three course festive dinner this year.
The Inverclyde Royal Hospital (IRH) operation is vast alongside its sister operation at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital – with more than 60 staff involved in prepping, cooking and packing around of 5,400 thousand meals which will be delivered to all hospitals across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area including The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, The New Victoria ACH and the IRH for the 25th of December.
The food is fresh, cooked to meet patient’s nutritional needs with little to no waste thanks to precise planning by the team which includes Helen Blackwell, specialist catering dietitian. This year more than 210kg of Brussels Sprouts, nearly 300kg of turkey, 244kg of roast potatoes and nearly six thousand chipolatas will pass through the Cook Freeze Production Units under the watchful eyes of catering team managers, Jim Dougan, Scott Stirrat and administration manager, Margaret Valenti.
Head of Catering, Kate Murray, has strategic oversight of the whole catering operation, ensuring there’s no hiccups. From taking orders from patients ahead of time, through to the prepping of the food, to the delivery across sites and finally onto the plates of patients courtesy of specially designed mobile ward ovens. Michael McCall, Cook Freeze Production Unit Manager has now seen more than 40 Christmases within NHSGGC, and has the operation down to a fine art.
Kate said:
“No one wants to be in hospital over Christmas and especially not to miss out on Christmas dinner so while we can’t promise the former, we can ensure everyone gets the option of a festive meal to help cheer them up on the 25th. Our Cook Freeze Production Units mean we’re able to deliver three courses packed with flavour and safe in the knowledge that across NHSGGC, our patients will receive food which is consistent in quality and nutritional value.
“Our staff work extremely hard all year round delivering 35,000 meals per week through both of our kitchens, so while it’s a mammoth task planning for Christmas, they take it in their stride along with any other day.”
The unit recently benefitted from more than £500,000 in investment, as the facility’s ovens and other equipment were upgraded to support patients and to bring the units in line with the kitchen’s high-tech software programme – which allows the team to track meals right down to a single sprout, if required.
Michael McCall added: “We’re extremely proud of the food we produce for patients, from sourcing fresh produce from nationally contracted suppliers like Campbell’s the Butchers and Andrew McDicken’s fresh seafood, both providing Scottish produce. Everything we produce is carefully designed to give our patients nutritious and tasty food, all year round.
“This year patients have a range of options for Christmas dinner, so whether you love or loathe sprouts, there’ll be something for everyone.”
ENDS
Picture Caption: Catering team L-R – Kate Murray, Michael McCall, Margaret Valenti