By Democrat reporter
Hardworking NHS catering staff have been busy preparing thousands of three-course festive meals for patients to enjoy on Christmas Day.
More than 60 staff members are involved in preparing, cooking and packing 5,400 meals, which will be delivered to all NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hospitals in time for 25th December.
This year’s Patient Christmas Lunch menu includes lentil soup to start, a choice of three main courses – turkey with trimmings, ham or a vegetarian pasta dish – and either Christmas pudding with custard or cream, strawberry gateau or yoghurt to finish.
All main courses will be served with roasted or creamed potatoes, red cabbage, carrots and Brussels sprouts.
As part of the huge operation, 343kg of turkey, 177kg of ham, 243kg of potatoes, 167kg of sprouts and 3,862 chipolatas will have passed through NHSGGC’s in-house Cook Freeze Production Units at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
It means those who are unfortunately in hospital on Christmas Day won’t have to miss out on having a festive lunch.
The Faslane catering team on stand-by to serve up Christmas dinners.
All of the food is cooked to meet patients’ nutritional needs, with input from specialist catering dietitian Helen Blackwell. Precise planning also means there is little to no waste.
NHSGGC’s catering team is also responsible for preparing food served in staff dining rooms.
Kate McVey, Head of Catering, oversees the whole operation, which includes taking orders from patients ahead of time and the use of specially designed mobile ward ovens.
She said: “Nobody wants to spend Christmas in hospital, but we can try to bring some festive cheer by making sure they don’t miss out on having a tasty Christmas dinner.
“This year patients have a range of options, and we hope there is something for everyone.
“Staff work extremely hard to ensure we’re able to deliver nutritional three-course meals packed with flavour that are consistent in quality.”