MEALS NOW MADE TO ORDER
Santa has delivered an early Christmas present to patients at St Vincent’s Private Hospital with the introduction of full room service for all meals as of Monday, December 11.
The hospital has transformed the meal-time experience for patients, who will no longer receive their meals at a set time each day, nor need to select their meals a day in advance.
Instead, they will be able to order fresh, cooked-to-order meals, which will be delivered in under 45 minutes from placing their order, at any time between 6.30am and 6.30pm.
If preferred, a family member or carer will be able to place an order on behalf of the patient, and meals can also be ordered in advance for delivery at a specific time.
Patients with special dietary requirements and food allergies will continue to be managed via the hospital’s clinical information systems and only food items that meet the patient’s individual requirements will be offered.
Complex dietary requests will be referred to the hospital’s clinical dietitian.
Room service assistants will take patient orders and be able to assist patients with special needs to choose from the range of options available on the menu, so good nutrition remains paramount.
Room service menus will be located on the tray table in all patient rooms.
St Vincent’s Private Hospital chief executive officer Kathryn Mckeefry said the introduction of the new service was only possible because the hospital had recently completed a new state-of-theart kitchen as part of the $30 million Clive Berghofer operating theatre suite project.
“The new kitchen was set up specifically to accommodate room service, and our food service staff have been working quietly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth implementation,” Ms Mckeefry says.
Hospital support services manager Leanne Kiepe said her kitchen was the second St Vincent’s Health Australia facility to introduce this exciting model of food service, which offers a comprehensive menu that meets the dietary requirements of adults and children alike.
The $30 million Clive Berghofer theatre suite project is nearing completion and plans are being implemented to commission the new theatres and recovery areas.
Ms Mckeefry said an extensive body of work was also in progress to implement a new cardiology service at St Vincent’s in partnership with Heartcare partners and additional refurbishment works are underway to create a new 22-bed rehabilitation unit.