CASE STUDY: Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Bolton Hospital takes patient meal service to new heights by procuring and commissioning the new Iseco single-tray patient meal system. Technology and innovation at its very best and performing from day one.

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The Hero!

In 2010 Royal Bolton Hospital won two national catering awards; Margaret Meadows Trust Catering Manager won Cost Sector Catering ‘Manager of the Year’ and her team as a whole won the Health Business ‘Hospital Catering Award’ as sponsored by Nestle Professional. The awards recognised the team’s success in improving the patient journey by raising the standard of the patient’s catering experience. The team is innovative and creative and has taken new ideas forward on the back of these successes. Last year when funding became available to allow new patient food service systems to be explored, a decision was taken to look over the horizon and explore the market place for new and innovative technology that could continue to develop a patient focused service, Improving the patients journey. The NHS Trust determined patient food to be of high priority and good food presented well could both enhance the patient journey and aid a swifter recovery. After an exhaustive selection procedure involving input from ward level staff, estates department, catering and portering staff and procurement personnel, weeks of head-to-head trials of various manufacturers systems were embarked upon. Eventually RBH decided the system they wanted was the new technologically advanced Vitalis EVO trolley and Stand-Fresh compressor system as developed and manufactured by Iseco.

The system was installed and commissioned over just three days at the beginning of November 2010 and was a huge success from day one.

It appears at this juncture to have no negatives; green credentials are excellent, loading, handling and manoeuvring are simple, time is saved in the kitchen and especially at ward level where staff now have more time to interact with patients and help them feed if necessary. In addition cleaning the carts after service could not be easier and can be done by power-spray wash or mechanical cart wash as desired. The new system is performing better than even the trials suggested it would and gives flexibility to meet changing demands on services. Using the New Iseco Vitalis Evo Single: Single-Tray Patient Meal Cart The tray with food from the meal plating belt is placed into the cart (capacity 16, 20, 24, 28 & 30 level). Once loaded the cart is docked with a Stand-Fresh compressor unit for a 20 minute boost period, whereby the hot shelves are thermalised and the cold section chilled at each level during the same cycle. The cart is then un-docked and transported to ward level with temperatures maintained for up to an hour without power connections and without food drying or deteriorating while in transit. The meal is presented perfectly every single service. Meanwhile the Iseco Stand-Fresh unit remains in the kitchen to be docked with other loaded Vitalis EVO trolleys as they come away from the plating belt. The compressor unit is only required in a ratio of 1no unit per 4no cart. The Vitalis EVO Single trolley having no integral compressor is 40% lighter and much easier to handle. Huge energy savings are possible in that only the shelves within the trolley accommodating trays use energy, if only 4 trays loaded only 4 shelves are energised (an intelligent system).

ISECO Joins NHS Supply Chain

ISECO high quality patient meal trolleys & food delivery systems can now be procured via the NHS Supply Chain without going through a costly and protracted tender process. Read more about our membership of the NHS Supply Chain.

Operator Benefits
  • Perfect thermalisation of food
  • Perfect presentation of the food
  • Perfect temperatures
  • Perfect safety - EVERY SINGLE SERVICE
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    Patient Survey Comments
  • ’Its like a 5-star hotel, I’m booking in again’.
  • ’Tray service very nice, less institutional’.
  • ‘Good service and lovely food, I can’t fault it’.
  • ‘I haven’t needed to have food brought from home’.
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    Environmentally & Ergonomically Beneficial
  • Only the shelves accommodating trays use energy.
  • 50%+ power saving compared to convected-air systems.
  • No integral compressor therefore 40% less weight.
  • Greatly reduces service time at ward level freeing staff to help patients with actually eating their meals.
  • Cleaning is easy and by power spray-wash or trolley wash as required.
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