Region's largest healthcare kitchen at Medical City Hospitals

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) *Can serve up to 4000 healthy and nutritious meals each day
*Caters to 65 different diets
*Employs 300 staff, including dietitians, chefs, and stewards

Hamad Medical Corporation's (HMC) new Medical City Hospitals house the biggest healthcare kitchen in the region with the capacity to provide patients with up to 4000 healthy and nutritious meals every day.

Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, Women and Wellness Centre and Ambulatory Care Centre are the three New Medical City Hospitals.
These meals cater to more than 65 different diets, accommodating patients with a range of allergies and other health concerns.
Director of Dietetics and Nutrition Reem al-Saadi said 'the operation of a kitchen of this capacity is very complex as we cater to more than 65 different diets at any given time. This includes patients with issues in swallowing and those with specific macro or micro-nutrient requirements. We know that nutritious meals play a role in the healing and recovery process".


A view of a section of the enormous kitchen

Some of the staff at the healthcare kitchen

The HMC official said while the patients are in hospital, diet is a priority and it could govern how quickly a patient recovers. "Every meal has to go through a strict process and is planned with dietitians based on the individual needs of the patient, she said.
The official pointed out that menus are balanced to ensure that there is a variety and that a day's complete menu over breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks delivers the nutrition and calories needed to meet the health requirements of patients "Much planning goes into each dish, which is tested several times and assessed by dietitians before being added to the menu. The most popular dish among patients is chicken biriyani with raita salad," she added.
Meals in the kitchen of the new Medical City Hospitals are planned and prepared by an extensive team of more than 300 staff, including dietitians, chefs, and stewards, each of whom is involved in different stages of the food preparation process. This process includes everything from the ordering and delivery of the raw ingredients to the preparation and serving of the meals and finally the meticulous clearing and cleaning process.
The kitchen is in fact so enormous that more than 150 staff are employed just to clean and ensure that hygiene standards are met. The dedicated loading dock and temperature-controlled storage facilities see dozens of deliveries of fresh food and produce each day.
Al-Saadi said 'the kitchen has been designed with maximum efficiency and is built to meet the nutritional needs of our patients. It has separate streams (sections) for chicken, fish, bakery, and dairy items, as well as for
processing, receiving, thawing, and sending out meals. It is also equipped with 27 cold and freezer rooms to store food and is fitted with some of the most technically-advanced food-processing equipment. It includes machines that can peel and chop vegetables as well as cook bulk quantities of various foods.
In terms of numbers, the kitchen's enormous capacity means that it currently serves up more than 1000 kilos of rice each month and enables the cleaning, washing and disinfecting of thousands of plates and pieces of cutlery. It has a master corridor that links the kitchen to the hospital facilities which is 800 meters long (two laps of an Olympic track).
The kitchen which has the capacity to serve up to 4000 healthy and nutritious meals each day, prepares meals to suit a wide range of dietary needs.

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