Notts landing

"Hospitals march on their mashed potato," says John Hughes, catering manager at Nottingham City Hospital. "It's a big favourite with both patients and dietitians because it has a high calorific value, it's easy to swallow and it tastes good. The fact that we can now provide proper, fresh mashed potato should not be underestimated."

Serving up proper mashed potato to patients isn't the only benefit to arise out of Nottingham City Hospital's new kitchen since it opened on 29 September. The five previous months in a temporary kitchen had taken their toll on both staff morale and food quality. Food preparation was inevitably more laborious, and using powdered mashed potato instead of the real thing was just one of the corners that had to be cut.

Despite some concern as to whether the kitchen would be ready in time, cooking did commence on schedule and the project came in almost exactly on budget. "It was touch and go whether we opened on time, right up to the last minute," admits Hughes.

Luckily for the catering team, however, the kitchen has had no major faults. Having a full-time engineer on site for the first week avoided many difficulties, but there were a couple of minor hitches.

Use of the kitchen's bakery oven was delayed for two weeks due to new legislation affecting installation requirements. "Thelegislation came into force during the build period and we didn't know anything about it," says Hughes. "This meant we had to wait a couple of weeks for parts."

Due to unexplained technical problems, the kitchen's new Tannoy system won't work. "We want to be able to call out orders across the kitchen, but for some reason it's not happening yet," says Hughes.

Further complications have been restricted to some inevitable disorientation after moving 65 staff into new premises. "There has been some confusion over how some of the new equipment works," admits Hughes. "The staff have had to adjust from operating machines with big manual handles to touch-pads. In the end, it doesn't matter how much training you do beforehand because, in practice, you've got to learn as you go along."

All are agreed, though, that the improvements easily outweigh any problems. The time it takes to serve the hospital's 60 wards has already been cut from 50 to 35 minutes.

"Now we have the new machinery, the food is handled only once before it reaches the ward," says Hughes. "And we haven't even got the new distribution trolleys yet."

This improved speed of service has also resulted in food reaching patients at higher temperatures. "The new kitchen has given us an increase of 10°C for food at ward level," says Hughes.

It's not just the kitchen staff who are enjoying their new environment, either. Patients are responding positively to the improved food quality. A survey carried out by the catering department and the hospital's nutritional steering group is reporting positive feedback from patients.

"What's come out of the survey is the impact food has on a patient's stay and the quality of their hospital experience," says Hughes. "A hospital can be a surreal environment to work in. It knocks you back when you realise what some patients are going through. We know we need to get our staff out to the wards so they can see what is important to the patients."

The story so far

Nottingham City Hospital has invested in a new kitchen to provide for its 3,200 patients. The kitchen, which opened in September, 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.

Nottingham City Hospital

Hucknall Road, Nottingham NGS 1PB
Tel: 0115-969 1169

Catering manager: John Hughes
Patients: about 3,200
Daily budget per patient: £2.50 (includes three meals, drinks and snacks)
Investment in new kitchen (including temporary kitchen during build): £850,000
Staff: 65, including 12 chefs