York Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust is celebrating the completion of a major transformation of catering services. The Trust invested £4.3million to improve catering facilities, including a two-year rebuild of its kitchen and restaurant, and the creation of a fresh food central production unit (CPU) to prepare meals for patients. The York site has more than 700 beds and is the Trust’s largest hospital.
Restaurant Design Associates (RDA), based in South Tyneside, was appointed by independent global professional services provider Sweett Group to provide consultancy and design services for York Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust.
RDA’s involvement in the project began three years ago, when the decision was made by the Trust to invest in the works. RDA’s design director Paul Hirst – who has worked with the Trust on past projects – was asked to be part of a design selection process, and was successfully chosen to be part of a lead design team working with architects, consultants, facilities management staff, and catering and retail experts.
RDA designed and managed the development of the CPU, and advised on how to improve flow from delivery and storage to preparation, cooking, blast chilling, wrapping and dispatch. Quantities and throughput were key considerations for the team in all layouts and equipment specifications, as it was necessary for the CPU to have the potential to supply other hospitals.