HOSPITAL CATERING
reinstalled. This process has to be repeated all over again with each successive section. This means often utilising another nearby space to house the catering equipment, and perhaps even a reduction in the range of foods that the Catering Department/function offers during refurbishment.
There are also other problems. It is difficult to maintain your efficiency in makeshift surroundings; if you are working in the kitchen area while another section is being refurbished there could be problems with dust and other contamination.
Challenges of large-scale upgrades There is also the difficulty of undertaking large-scale upgrades, such as a new floor or wallcoverings or extraction, in stages. These would require the complete shutting down of the catering operation in that space, requiring a full temporary set-up anyway. Shutting down your entire operation might seem like a drastic measure, but with a temporary modular kitchen, it needn’t be. Using a temporary facility for the duration of a refurbishment gives you the opportunity to replicate your former service for customers away from the work being undertaken in the old kitchen. A temporary kitchen is cleaner, safer, and less disruptive to your catering operation’s staff and customers. Making the most of unused outdoor space to create a temporary facility allows a smooth handover from one facility to another. With custom-designed temporary units that can be delivered and installed in a matter of days, PKL works with many hospitals to create bespoke kitchen and dining facilities. Matching the equipment specifications means menus don’t have to change, and staff don’t need to re-train on significantly different equipment.
Principles in action
These principles can be seen in action in many of PKL’s hires. A good example is the facility we created for Bolton Hospital during the refurbishment of its kitchen facilities. We designed a facility that had a substantial dining area for visitors and
Key considerations when preparing
n How much outside space do you have? Alternatively, do you have a large indoor space in which equipment could be set up? If this is the case, it is important to consider if the space has adequate ventilation.
n Check for services – does the proposed site have water, gas, and electricity supplies? PKL does provide gas cages for bottled gas during the hire
n What electricity supply do you have? Single or three-phase? n Is the area you plan to locate the kitchen in near to wards? This can often cause disruption and issues; kitchens cause smells and noise.
n What access do you have? What size vehicle can you get onto the site you propose to use for the kitchen?
n Level ground: level ground is vital for the everyday use of the unit – groundworks may be needed to create a platform for the temporary kitchen to sit on during the hire.
staff, with a production kitchen and ‘prep area’ that fitted in a 17 m x 12 m space. Equipped with similar equipment to that used by the catering team in its permanent kitchen before the refurbishment, the kitchen and dining facility we provided allowed the team to offer a virtually identical menu with little change in its ordering or routines. It was installed in three days, and supported the hospital’s caterers for five months.
A quality interior
The quality of the interior of dining areas can closely match that of permanent buildings as well. Both the Bolton scheme and our installation at North Middlesex University Hospital featured comfortable and high-quality interiors to maintain the experience of visitors within the temporary set-up.
Food-safe, waterproof links can connect the temporary modular kitchen to the hospital’s permanent buildings, or the units can be set up as a completely separate facility. Temporary modular kitchens still require power and services, so it is important to consider, before booking, where services are coming from,
New, permanent facilities
Kitchens present a number of problems for anyone looking to run a healthcare site successfully: n They are expensive to install and maintain.
n They are inflexible – once they are set up they can’t reflect the rapidly changing face of healthcare sites – with flows of people changing, and population centres shifting over months and years as new facilities are added.
n They also present a fire risk – kitchens are one of the highest risk areas in a hospital for fires, due to hot oil, hot grills, and high traffic around these areas.
if you have water and wastewater facilities, whether the site has a three- or single-phase electricity supply, what access the site has, and whether the site requires works to make the ground level. Also, think about the need for planning permission; here developing a good relationship with your local planning authority would be an advantage. For all these reasons, PKL undertakes site surveys before every hire, to ensure that the installation will be problem-free.
your site for a modular kitchen n How many people do you want to serve? n Do you have any ‘spikes’ in service during the day? n What menu do you want to serve? The simpler the menu, the easier, and often cheaper, it is to hire a temporary kitchen – but will you lose customers?
A temporary kitchen and dining facility at Bolton Hospital. 82 Health Estate Journal October 2018
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