Three months on from the fire in the kitchen at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, teams across UHL have been working around the clock to reopen the restaurant and keep patient catering running.
Thanks to the hard work of colleagues involved in the recovery operation, the restaurant reopened at 8am on Wednesday 13 August.
Led by estates and facilities and supported by the capital projects team, portering, cleaning, and a number of external contractors, the recovery plan has followed a phased approach to bring catering operations safely and steadily back online.
Nick Lee, Retail Catering Facilities Manager, has been heavily involved in the project. He said: “We pulled together very quickly to get patients fed in the immediate aftermath of the fire. From there, we moved into the next phase – looking at a safe and practical way to bring retail catering back online for colleagues and visitors.
“We set up a tactical group which initially met twice a day, working through access, logistics, and infrastructure. Everyone dropped everything to help and the support from local businesses was fantastic.”
The recovery has been structured into phases, with phase one focusing on the initial emergency response, ensuring the continuity of patient meal provisions at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The next phase (phase 2) focused on reopening the restaurant to colleagues and visitors. Teams made the fire damaged area safe, cleaned the area, and installed new refrigeration units.
Nick added: “The top priority initially was to maintain meal provision for patients across all three hospital sites. Within hours of the fire, catering teams implemented a temporary plan to redirect production to kitchens at the Leicester General Hospital and the Glenfield Hospital, supported by rapid stock movement from site to site.
“Portering teams played a vital role, helping to move chilled and frozen food between locations, while cleaning teams ensured alternative areas were safe and fit for food preparation. The coordinated effort meant there was no disruption to patient meal schedules.”
Phase 3 will involve a long-term project to reinstate the kitchen area back to its full catering capacity.
Dharminder Shoker, Associate Director of Commercial Services, said: “I’m very proud of the organisation that we work for and the people that are working in it. It’s thanks to the team effort across the board, with everyone going the extra mile to get the kitchen back up and running. I want to thank all colleagues involved, there are too many to name, but my thanks go out to all of you.
“I’d also like to thank all colleagues and visitors across the Leicester Royal Infirmary site for their patience with the limited facilities that we’ve been able to offer over the last few months. I’ve been looking forward to the restaurant reopening, as I’m sure most of you have been.”