Catering working group establishes important ties in Gippsland

Food services managers from eight health services met at Latrobe Regional Health earlier this month to discuss issues such as supply chain and cost pressures and tour the new kitchen.

The attendees, all members of the Gippsland Catering Working Group that HSV established in 2020, met in person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic to share information and network with colleagues.

The group also took part in a sample tasting of textured modified foods and toured the new kitchen facilities at Latrobe Regional Health, which recently secured the Institute of Hospitality in HealthCare Project of the Year Award for Victoria/Tasmania.

The working group was established by HSV’s Gippsland Customer Relationship Manager, Emma Hammond to improve networks and engagement between Gippsland-based health service food services teams and HSV’s procurement team.

Emma said that with several regional hospitals planning kitchen redevelopments, the group was very happy to have an opportunity to tour the Latrobe hospital kitchen and storerooms.

“It was also an opportunity for our category manager to tour the facilities, meet with food services managers face-to-face and get first-hand feedback on supplier performance,” Emma says.

Latrobe Regional Health Food Services Manager Steve Henry said the group offers a much-needed opportunity to meet with peers and share ideas.

“It was beneficial to get together in person, swap ideas and get feedback from the other members. Because we had HSV representatives there, we could get our questions answered right away. We were able to share our experiences which also helps us get the best out of what HSV has to offer,” Steve says.

Steve shared details of Latrobe Regional Health’s Institute of Hospitality in HealthCare Project of the Year Award, in conjunction with Monash Health Central Production Kitchen Team. 

“Because we’re expanding the hospital with an extra 120 beds, we are introducing a room service model so that wards where we typically have high wastage can order on demand,” Steve said. 

The information shared at the meeting included menu ideas to support the Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices guidelines, and feedback and ideas about ordering systems and processes and supplier performance feedback.

Yarram District Health Food Services Coordinator Angelique James said the information shared in the group was beneficial and she has already implemented some of the recommendations.

“I was able to change our menu to swap out more complicated desserts for cold desserts like fruit salads at nighttime. This change made a big difference to our staff.”

Angelique says the relationships she’s built through the working group have been good for Yarram District.

“When we recently implemented the ChefMax patient menu ordering system, we received a lot of support from Gippsland Southern Health Service in Leongatha who helped us with set-up and menus. We’re now a month away from going live.”

David O’Neill from West Gippsland Healthcare Group said he was happy to get supplier issues addressed with HSV and to connect with other food services managers.

“We talked through similar issues we had with the Healthy Choices government guidelines. It helped with my understanding and knowledge to be able to hear about and see what other hospitals are doing,” he says.