Patient Catering Assistant

The Patient Catering Assistant will be responsible for the provision of an efficient, safe and hygienic food service at ward level operating within established food hygiene, safety practices, methods and procedures.
This will include the picking, preparation, regeneration and plating up of patient meals in order to assist nursing staff to serve meals to the patients.
The post holder will be responsible for the safe and hygienic cleaning of the ward kitchen and all associated equipment.
The Patient Catering Assistant must be receptive to individual patient’s food service needs and treat any information about their condition with utmost confidence.
The role will also include undertaking duties to provide a porter and cleaning service to the catering department and to assist in simple food preparation in a chilled and/or frozen working and storage environment
To generally assist when required with other comparable tasks including Saffron and the general stores as directed by their Assistant Duty Manager/Duty Manager
At UH Sussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.
For further details, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification.
To clean allocated pieces of heavy catering equipment using instructions and cleaning materials
To dispose of waste materials from catering areas to designated collection points.
To operate industrial dishwashers in all catering areas.
To operate mechanical floor scrubbing and steam cleaning equipment.
To transport provisions, equipment and other catering related items as required.
To maintain clean working environment at all times, with special regard to hygiene.
To ensure that all food is prepared in the environment with due care and attention, particularly in regard to customers’ special dietary requirements: for example, nut, dairy or wheat allergies.
To monitor the inputting of the patient menu on the Saffron tablets ensuring that all the necessary information is captured accurately.
Collate patient meal numbers for picking and packing as required and generate associated Saffron system reports as necessary.
Printing of the pick pack sheets for each meal service ensuring that all the correct information has been captured and the sheets are printed in a timely manner to allow sufficient time for the pick pack to be carried out.
Assisting with the receipt of deliveries, checking quantity and quality of goods; ensuring that due diligence is followed by checking and recording delivery temperatures as appropriate and compliance with the Trusts policies and procedures as required.
Reporting of variances in deliveries both internally and to the supplier arranging replacement deliveries or credit notes as appropriate.
Keeping accurate records of stock and inventory movement both inwards and outwards allowing costs to be correctly attributed to the specific department.
Ensure all stock is rotated and stored correctly reducing wastage and ensuring compliance with necessary legislation as required.
To undertake occasional duties outside the normal routine but within the scope of the position and the department’s activities.
To assist, as required, at special functions, some of which may occur outside normal working hours, for which you will be paid overtime