NHS caterers ensure patients don’t miss out on Christmas lunch in hospital

Dec. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- ORGANISNG Christmas Day lunch for a large gathering of family and friends is a tall order in itself – but imagine preparing and producing turkey and all the trimmings on an epic scale.

This is all part of the service for NHS caters, Lifespan Catering Services, whose run of providing Christmas lunches to hospital patients starts well before the big day itself.

Throughout December, a large helping of festive cheer is served up to patients around Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, North London, Leicester and Norfolk by Cambridge-based Lifespan Catering Service.

All the vegetables – many of which are supplied locally – as well as the numerous turkeys, are freshly prepared and cooked at the caterer’s Fulbourn unit.

Helen Dakin, catering operations manager at Lifespan Catering Services, said: “Christmas is a very busy time for the unit. Preparations for menus are made in October.

“They are compiled and sent out to the various hospitals and wards. Once the requirements have been completed, they are returned to the administration team and inputted into the system. The outcome is that we produce Christmas dinners almost every day throughout December.

“This is quite an arduous task as the menu differs from the regular choices. This also applies to Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.”

On Christmas Day, Lifespan Catering Services estimates it will be preparing around 7,000 traditional Christmas dinners with all the trimmings through its ‘cook-chill’ method.  

Patients can expect to tuck into a full turkey lunch and all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding and brandy sauce. To enter into the spirit of things, Lifespan Catering Services will also provide napkins and Christmas crackers if required.

And for supper, there will be a choice of sandwiches and salads, casseroles and cakes and of course mince pies and Christmas cake.

Helen added: “It is important for us to reflect the season for those unfortunate enough to be in hospital for the festive period. Christmas Day in some of our hospitals may start with a full cooked breakfast.

“All the food – of which there are around 32,000 portions prepared every day – follows our production schedule as usual and is all freshly prepared.”

Crucial to the whole process is an army of delivery drivers, who work 365 days a year to ensure the meals reach their destinations in good time and form a vital part of the team working on Christmas Day.

Lifespan Catering Services is the catering arm of NHS shared services provider Anglia Support Partnership.


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Preparing to serve up thousands of Christmas lunches to hospital patients, Lifespan Catering Service’s Michele Lopiccolo, Helen Dakin and Rose Kelleway.

Note to editors




For more press information contact Cetti Long at Media Matters on (01733) 371363 or email: cetti@mediamatters-pr.co.uk Lifespan Catering Services head of catering Trevor Colcomb on 01223 8841111 or Anglia Support Partnership communications manager Sadie Moden on 01480 398649.

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