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Helping NHS Kitchens to improve efficiency and ensure food safety

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Challenge One: Accurate Temperature Checks of Hospital Meals

The Catering Department at NHS Milton Keynes University Hospital serves around 500 patients every day. Meals are prepared and packed in the main kitchen before being transported to 22 different wards on food trolleys.

For food safety, the temperature of every individual meal must be checked before leaving the kitchen and again on arrival at the ward. Accurate readings are critical, as vulnerable patients could be put at risk by meals served outside safe temperature limits, particularly from foodborne pathogens such as Listeria.

Challenge Two: Checking the Accuracy of the Thermometers

To ensure accurate meal temperature readings, the catering team must regularly check the thermometers used across the hospital. Previously, this required coordinating staff from 22 departments to return thermometers to the main kitchen.

The team also relied on the outdated ice and boiling water method, which was time-consuming and could produce inconsistent results. As a result, the calibration process was inefficient, difficult to manage and not always reliable.

The National Health Service (NHS) consists of over 1,250 hospitals across the UK and treats an estimated 1.5 million patients per day.

Feeding patients safely at this scale is a constant operational challenge, from sourcing and storage through to preparation and delivery on the ward.

Foodborne illness poses a serious risk in hospitals, where vulnerable groups are especially susceptible due to weakened immune systems. This makes food safety a critical consideration in healthcare environments.

500

hospital patients served food every day.

28

meals checked every 30 minutes.

22

wards with thermometers in need of checking.

Solution One: Folding Probe and Infrared Thermometer

Before partnering with Klipspringer, the team had tried three different thermometers, none of which lasted as long as expected. Catering Manager Frank Fiore decided to switch to a Klipspringer folding probe and infrared thermometer.

According to Frank, the change has made it “a lot easier…to monitor temperatures,” noting that it’s easy to use and more accurate than the probes they’d used previously, which needed checking more often due to reliability issues.

The dual function has also been a game changer. Previously, the team relied on single-function probe thermometers, but the infrared option now lets them check temperatures inside fridges and delivery trolleys, all with one device.

Frank Fiore, Catering Manager at Milton Keynes University Hospital, shares his experience of partnering with Klipspringer.

“If you’re feeding vulnerable people, you want to make sure the equipment you’re using is going to give you accurate readings. The LazaPort Mono is always going to be consistent, so we’ve got peace of mind.”

Frank Fiore, Catering Manager at Milton Keynes University Hospital

Solution Two: Accurate Thermometer Checks with the LazaPort Mono

Instead of coordinating 22 different team members to bring their probes to the main kitchen for accuracy checks, the LazaPort Mono’s small, lightweight design means it can be taken to different departments, so checks can be carried out on the go.

Frank explained that this approach saves the team significant time, especially when compared with the traditional ice and boiling water method. He also considers it the most reliable solution they have used:

“The LazaPort Mono is always going to be consistent, so we’ve got peace of mind. If you’re feeding vulnerable people, you want to make sure the equipment you’re using is going to give you accurate readings.”

The LazaPort8

If you need to check your thermometers at multiple temperature points, the LazaPort8 may be better suited to your site.

This unit allows you to verify multiple probe and infrared thermometers simultaneous and is highly accurate to +/- 0.3°C.

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Ebro Thermometer Probes

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