Ian Jackson, Independent Assessor from the CAP Awards (the continuous Advancement Programme for Housekeeping and Catering) explains why the housekeeping and catering teams at Mount Desert’s Bon Secours Care Village deserved to win this prestigious award for excellence for the third time.
I’m not always the most welcome visitor to a site when I arrive with my white gloves and clipboard but the team at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Bon Secours Care Village soon over came their initial shock at my unexpected arrival and replaced their aghast looks with welcoming smiles.
The audit began in earnest with a detailed inspection of the housekeeping and catering facility at the village. St Joseph’s has been awarded Gold for their housekeeping and catering twice in the past so I was confident that standards would have been maintained and I wasn’t disappointed. The main focus of the CAP Award Programme is to continually advance standards in housekeeping and catering so one of the first tasks for the day was to review the improvements that have been made since the last inspection. I was delighted to find that further enhancements of the Gold standard housekeeping and catering had been made. The building was even cleaner and the food offering was not only tasty and nutritious but focused on the residents’ needs.
The next stage of the audit was to investigate below the surface and to undertake a rigorous review of the system of works that support the housekeeping and catering facilities at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Bon Secours Care Village. Hygiene checks, training records, audit procedures, safety standards and resident feedback records were amongst some of the systems that were reviewed as part of the CAP audit. All were found to be in good order and I was particularly impressed by the staff training and development of the housekeeping team.
One of the highlights of the day was the lunch service where I experienced residents enjoying an exemplary lunch service in the spotless and welcoming restaurant area. The menu catered well to the specialist dietary requirements of many of the residents and it was good to see how well the care staff at each table interacted with the residents ensuring that their varied needs were catered to.
I’m delighted that the Housekeeping and Catering teams have continued to build and improve the high standards of service at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Bon Secours Care Village. I congratulate them all for their well deserved Gold CAP Awards and for increasing their previous scores. I look forward to following their progression over the next twelve months and to the next CAP audit. If I am selected as the auditor for the next CAP inspection I do hope that the restaurant will be serving the beautifully cooked chicken supreme with delicate sauce and fresh vegetables!
Congratulations and Well Done to the Catering and Housekeeping Team. I am so proud of you all. It just proves how important and valuable each person and each department is in the Care Village. We place a big emphasis on healthy, fresh and nutritious food that is attractive and tailored to each individual. All of this is served in a spotless and beautiful environment.
"In every home, the kitchen is the heart and with this gold standard kitchen we have a heart of gold”, said Nollaig Broe – Hospital Manager/ Director of Nursing.
The continuous Advancement Programme is an annual award scheme for catering and housekeeping/cleaning services in the private healthcare and private education sectors.
