After 25 years of hard usage, our hospice kitchen has been
refurbished. 

Funded by various grants, work started in mid March when the kitchen staff moved into their temporary home of a 4-bedded bay on Heaselands ward.  Supplies of frozen ready-meals were shipped in and inpatients and day hospice patients have eaten roast beef, lamb hotpot and chicken curry (amongst a larger selection of meals) from Sussex Farmhouse Meals.

Making the most of the grant money, several items from the old kitchen have been re-used.  We have a new oven, dishwasher, waste disposal unit, microwave ovens, fridges as well as new flooring and wall coverings, lighting and plumbing.  Our maintenance team worked with external contractors to firstly dismantle and then rebuild the whole kitchen area.

        
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We have spent time thinking about 'zoning' the kitchen to make workflows easier and to segment areas to ensure most efficient use of space. 

Our new kitchen has a special area where nurses can quickly and easily get drinks and light snacks, ice-creams, sorbets, yoghurts, jellies and ice-cubes, as well as fruit juices for inpatients.  The Catering team moved back into their new home during the week of Monday 7 April 2008.

Our Catering team are delighted with their newly refurbished working area and this has come at a particularly appropriate time as they have recently received a 5-star accreditation for Excellent Food Hygiene standards, along with the hospice Coffee Shop and Education Centre.  We are 1 of only 12 establishments in the Crawley and Gatwick area to have been given this 5-star award.