The Mater's Room Service hospital food wins Healthcare Asia Awards 2018

The Mater Hospital in North Sydney has won two major awards for its outstanding levels of service, outperforming all other hospitals across the Asia Pacific region.

The Mater won the awards at the Healthcare Asia Awards for the introduction of its new on-demand meal service and the complete rebuild of its kitchens to facilitate cooked-to-order meals for patients.

Mater Hospital CEO Janine Loader says the introduction of Room Service is the first in a series of innovative patient-centric initiatives the hospital will be rolling out over the next 18 months.

“The reaction from our patients has been overwhelming, especially in our maternity wards. Anyone who’s had a baby knows they work to their own schedule. We wanted new mums to be able to order fresh, healthy food at a time that suited them and their baby,” Ms Loader said.

“We’ve also redesigned the whole menu. Let’s face it, ‘hospital food’ has become shorthand for bad food and bad service. We wanted to turn that perception on its head.”

There have been other positive outcomes from the introduction of Room Service twelve months ago. Food wastage (a huge cost for both hospitals and the environment) has been drastically reduced by 84 per cent.

“This outcome reinforces how putting patient needs first has a positive impact on the whole hospital. Next, we’ll be trialling a smartphone app to make ordering even easier for our patients and their families,” said Ms Loader.

The Mater’s new Room Service won the Facilities Improvement Initiative and the Service Delivery Initiative of the Year awards at a ceremony last night in Singapore.

Introducing Room Service necessitated extensive structural changes to the way meals are served throughout the hospital, including introducing an ordering hotline, a complete kitchen rebuild (from a typical production-line format to an a la carte offering) and tray-tracking technology to make sure the right meal gets to the right mum at the right time.

“Room Service allows us to cater to patients’ dietary needs, cultural preferences - and lets new mums order all those things they can’t eat while pregnant,” said Ms Loader.

“Because, really, if you want dessert at 10 o’clock in the morning or breakfast at 3pm, why shouldn’t you have it?”

The Healthcare Asia Awards 2018 was held on 23 May 2018 at the Conrad Centennial Singapore.

This year's nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Abhay Bangi, Partner, Life Sciences & Healthcare Lead, Ernst & Young; Mohit Grover, Life Sciences & Healthcare Leader, Deloitte, and; Sabrina Tay, Partner and Deputy Industry Lead, Healthcare RSM Singapore.

Check out the event photos during the awards night here.

If you would like to join the 2019 awards and be awarded as one of the most outstanding healthcare companies in the region, please email Marianne at [email protected] or click here for more information.