Authors (including presenting author) :
WONG CYM(1), LUI APY(4), NG EYL(2), LAW JSL(3), LO WY(3), WONG LPK(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Catering Services, Kowloon Hospital, (2) Administrative Division, Kowloon Hospital, (3) Facilities Management, Kowloon Hospital, (4) Cluster Administrative Division, Kowloon Central Cluster, The Hospital Authority
Introduction :
The Patient Catering Services has been providing meals for ~1,400 patients in Kowloon Hospital (KH), Hong Kong Eye Hospital (HKEH) and Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital (HKBH) in hot-plating operation from breakfast to dinner on a daily basis. The kitchen in KH has been operating over 20 years without renovation. To better prepare for the increased demand due to the aging population and minimizing the risk of service interruption and/or delay due to facilities breakdown, food ingredient supply, and logistics issues, the KH kitchen underwent a renovation for technology updating and facilities upgrading. Since patient meal provision is one of the essential services to patients yet space is always limited in the hospital, the renovation has to be carried out on existing site while the routine patient meal service has to be maintained. After careful consideration and planning, an area equivalent to 97.7sqm was identified as a temporary support and the renovation project was divided into 5 phases with Phase IV that involves the major food preparation and cooking area being the most critical. To ensure a smooth progression of the project with safe and efficient operation, a close collaboration with all the parties involved is the key.
Objectives :
To maintain safe and timely food services for ~1,400 patients in KH, HKEH and HKBH during the course of kitchen renovation.
Methodology :
An area of 97.7sqm was identified as a temporary supporting area for meal preparation to allow the provision of patient meals during the renovation period. Owing to the space limitation, the project was divided into 5 phases started from the dishwashing area, followed by the plating and cooking area. The temporary supporting area was then changed over to serve the corresponding function of the involved area. The period of renovation, including change-over, started from Oct. 2022 and is expected to be completed by May, 2024. Phase IV, which started in Aug. 2023, involved the major food preparation and cooking area is the most critical stage. To allow continuum of service, modification of food preparation workflow with relocation of kitchen facilities to the temporary area, manpower reallocation, use of cook-chilled food products (mainly entrée and pureed items) as replacement and the installation of additional power supply to accommodate the relocated equipment and 55 food trolleys are required within the available space and environmental constraints. The unloading of soiled meal trays was also rearranged to speed up dishwashing and trolley cleaning to catch up with the plating time. For the sake of food safety, the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plan has been reviewed and revised by external ISO consultant with the new temporary setting. Despite the deployment of staff, materials and equipment, support from nearby hospitals is not available. This exercise further reinforced the need for renovation and upgrading of the kitchen facilities for enhanced contingency support in future.
Result & Outcome :
With the close collaboration with Facilities Management team for technical support and Supporting Services for logistic issues, the relocation of equipment and new workflow runs smoothly despite the environmental constraints. The effort of Catering staff in taking up additional responsibility is highly appreciated. After all, the insightful decision and support from the senior management is indispensable and crucial to the preparedness for possible adverse conditions in future with the growing demand and aging facilities. At the moment, KH Kitchen has successfully provided 880,202 meals to ~1,400 patients in KH, HKEH and HKBH between Aug. 2023 to Feb. 2024 (during the critical Phase IV renovation) and in total 2,128,009 meals have been provided with timely delivery to HKEH and HKBH since the renovation started in Oct. 2022.
