Catering Assistant

We have an exciting opportunity for Catering Assistants and Kitchen Porters to join team QEH .

As part of the Catering Team you will be assisting in all aspects of food preparation, delivery, service, wash-up cleaning duties, Till work customer service relating to the provision of catering services to Patients, Staff, Visitors.

You will have previous experience managing your own time and resources and experience of working within a team. No formal qualifications are required for this position however you must have good reading and writing skills.

We are looking at annualised hours

An opportunity has arisen to join the Catering Team within The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The Catering Department caters for 1,500 main meals daily providing a service to patients, staff and visitors. Patients enjoy a choice from individual menus, which are then served by trained staff in the Catering Department using the belt system, which enables the complete meal to be arranged on individual trays. Where appetites vary considerably, as on wards for the elderly and children’s units, meals are served on the ward according to their individual needs. Staff enjoy a similarly wide choice and select their meals in The Hub Dining Room .

You will be working within the Catering Dept. where you may work in the Main Kitchen ,The Hub your workload will include emptying and cleaning the food trolleys, cleaning the kitchen, taking in deliverers from the loading bay and transporting them to the main kitchen , transporting meal trolleys to and from the wards and answering the telephone to take orders from the wards. You will also be required to work in the central dishwasher, pot wash area and cleaning equipment of the main kitchen and to serve meals for patients in the main kitchen.

You will be required to work as part of a team to deliver a quality service as directed by policies and procedures which are monitored by Supervisory Staff. Catering Assistants and Kitchen Porters will work closely between the Kitchen, Dining Room and Wards.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) King’s Lynn is located near some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK, along the north Norfolk coast, and not far from Sandringham House.

We provide a comprehensive range of specialist, acute, obstetrics and community-based healthcare services to around 331,000 people across west and north Norfolk, in addition to parts of Breckland, Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire. We have more than 4,000 staff and volunteers, approximately 530 beds, and a helipad for air ambulances. We work with neighbouring hospitals for the provision of tertiary services, including as part of regional partnership and network models of care, such as the trauma network. Some specialist services and clinics are provided in community facilities, such as the North Cambridgeshire hospital in Wisbech.

In February 2022, the significant progress that has been made at QEH in just three years since 2019 was recognised by the Care Quality Commission who rated the Trust as ‘Good’ in all of the core services they inspected, and recommended the Trust moves out of the recovery support system (formerly special measures). We have an absolute determination to continuously improve care and services for our patients and their families.

• The effective cleaning of all floors, walls, catering equipment and utensils.
• The transfer and storage of all catering provisions and supplies whilst ensuring good stock rotation procedures are adhered too
• The safe and efficient use of cleaning equipment.
• Ensuring the correct and economical use of materials, provisions and equipment.
• To ensure the handling of all provisions are carried out in full accordance with the current Food Hygiene Regulations.
• The immediate reporting of potential food contamination risks to the supervisor or manager.
• Ensuring full compliance with all Health and Safety, Fire and COSHH Regulations.
• Participating in the maintenance of a high standard of hygiene, both in relation to personal hygiene and all catering areas.
• To work in the Central Dishwasher Area unloading meal trolleys that has been returned from the Wards.
• Assisting with the service of patients meals on the plated meal conveyor belt. Serving customers in The Hub Restaurant
• The making of sandwiches and salads for sale in our outlets and for delivery to patients.
• To answer the telephone in a professional manner and take orders for meals.
• The distribution and collection of patient’s beverage crockery throughout the site, also to include distribution to satellite areas.
• The immediate reporting of any faulty or damaged equipment to a supervisor.
• Attend as required any relevant training sessions
• Generally ensuring the security of the Trust’s property by active vigilance and reporting of suspicious occurrences to a supervisor.
• To work on own initiative when organising daily tasks and during unsupervised times.
• To assist with the training of new starters.
• To complete time sheets and cleaning schedules.
• To participate in Quality Assurance audits.
• To dismantle, clean and reassemble the central dish wash.
• To maintain all ward food trolleys in a good hygienic condition.
• To participate in the Trust’s Performance Review process.
• To work on the ward as Hotel Services Assistant when required.
• Help prepare the buffets including making of sandwiches and plating up of buffet items cooked off by the chefs and then deliver to the various departments around the trust.
• The transfer and storage of all catering provisions and supplies whilst ensuring good stock rotation procedures are adhered to. To make sure that all fridges are kept clean and tidy with items dated correctly.
• Ensure the receipt and transference of all cash takings fully comply with the standing financial instructions at all times. Complete all relevant paper work regarding cash handling. Be competent to use a card machine.
• To work in The Hub Restaurant which involves cash handling and good customer service
• Receiving and checking in deliverers transporting deliveries to the main kitchen
• Transporting meal trolleys to and from the wards