New catering system for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust

Patients and staff at the Trust are now benefiting from a cook-freeze solution which provides around 450,000 hot main meals and limited desserts. The hospital has previously relied on a combination of a cook-serve system and plated meals service to deliver hot meals to its 750 patients. However, with growing concerns over the quality and efficiency of the service, the Trust decided to rethink its meals provision. Kate Marrs, facilities site manager, commented on the problems with the old system: "Not only was it labour intensive, but caterers were finding it increasingly challenging to maintain the temperature of the meals served to patients. There was also an issue with feeding times as some wards wanted food delivered earlier than others, and with the existing cook-serve system, meals had to be eaten at certain times." She goes on to explain the benefits to the new solution: "The cook-freeze system has really simplified the whole catering process. It not only allows us to deliver consistently hot, nutritious, quality meals to patients, but it has also given caterers flexibility by opening up a bigger window for eating times, which suits the ward and the patients." And as for the feedback from the patients: "They love the food and are very satisfied with the standard of meals which they now receive. We are very excited to be working with apetito, it is an ideal partnership", Kate concluded.