Moffat Regeneration Trolleys revolutionise Pilgrim Hospital catering
24 August 2009
Catering at the Boston hospital was made easier last year when after 15 years of using a plated, patient meal system, the 550-bed site switched to a new E&R Moffat bulk regeneration service.
Managers behind the change say that the transition to Moffat's regeneration trolleys has helped improve patients' food choice at the hospital.Pilgrim Hospitals' catering team continues to produce its own cook-chill meals, from a central production unit, using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. However, the hospitals' facilities manager, Clive Marriott, says that while they were able to serve good food under the old system, reheating caused major difficulties:
"With the old system, the meals were plated up cold in the kitchen, transported and then reheated on the ward. The food we provided was always good but the meals tended to dry out on the plate. This could make the crockery hard to wash and vegetables would turn soggy and discolour under the steel lids."
In the new system the food is transferred chilled, in bulk, in food shuttle buses to satellite ward kitchens. Then, at mealtimes it is reheated in Moffats' hostess regeneration trolleys and plated at time of serving on the wards. By ensuring that it is freshly plated, the hospital can ensure that the food looks and tastes better.
Clive added, "The new system has made a tremendous difference to the quality of the food. The Moffat 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 lasagne have nice crisp tops and the vegetables can be served al dente, if that’s what we want."
Site Catering Manager John Spencer, responsible for implementing the system, says another big benefit has been to the way the hospital now serves the meals:
"Basically we’ve turned the clock back to provide the sort of personalised service patients enjoyed 20 or 30 years ago. Housekeeping staff are on hand to serve them with whatever they fancy on the day and with the portion size they want, straight from the trolley."
When the new system was introduced, he adds, 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. It also gives the chefs far more involvement with the patients and their individual requirements than before and they are always happy to pop up to the ward as needed. Dishwashing, too, is now easier, since the food no longer dries out on the plates."
The Moffat Bulk Food Trolleys at the heart of the Pilgrim Hospital system are designed with flexibility built in, and can also be supplied as heated, ambient or refrigerated models. All units have digital temperature control and display for each compartment, and come pre-wired with plug and cable, needing only a 13 amp socket.
The trolleys are manufactured from 304 grade stainless steel throughout, with attractive wipe-clean crevice-free interiors for hygienic, easy cleaning. Moffat supplies them with large 150mm precision-bearing castors, two with brakes, for easy manoeuvring, and a host of options are available to suit individual locations.
E & R Moffat is one of the UKs' leading manufacturers of quality foodservice equipment, designing and manufacturing in-house. Based in Bonnybridge, Scotland, the company manufactures standard and bespoke servery, regeneration and storage equipment with a full nationwide after-sales engineering team. E & R Moffat is accredited to ISO 9001:2000 and many of the products have gas approvals and are EMC tested.
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