Food, we all love it, we eat in the morning, afternoon evening and sometimes even in the night, for a little midnight snack. But have you ever thought about the food in hospitals and how they manage to provide it for all their patients?

Well, I interviewed Mrs Pereira who works as an Assistant Patient Dining Manager in the NHS. She gave me an exclusive view into what she does. Some examples would be food inspections, feeding schedules Staff/patient complaints and much more.

This job interested her due to her curiosity of how common non-clinical people can be involved with patients. Despite facing challenges in her department, she now manages a team of over 100 people, using her previous experience to help make progress. She said, " I am very proud of myself that all procedures and policies are in place now and that it only has to be monitored for the department to function smoothly." 
 
She has a busy daily routine that involves managing multiple tasks. She ensures safe food for patients, assigns staff, tracks budgets, equipment repairs, investigates complaints and conducts daily audits. Despite the demanding nature of her job, she handles it well.

Her advice for people who would like to become an Assistant Patient Dining Manager. Is to be patient and to learn to adapt because each day has its own set of challenges; sometimes you need more than a Plan A but a Plan B or even a Plan C on the job. And remember to always be kind, because this job is not going to be easy- it will test you, but that kindness that you show goes a long way for both staff and patients.

She admires the unity in diversity at her workplace. They have people from different parts of the world with different religious beliefs, cultures and age groups ranging from 18 to 85. She is amazed to see how everyone comes together to work as a team and collectively ensures the safety of each patient.

Although the job can be quite taxing and tiresome, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to make a positive impact on a patient's life and that's her favourite part of the job. Mrs Pereira's dedication to her work has made a great impact as she made sure to have more than enough staff members on each shift; which created a less stressful environment in the workplace. After 5 years of working as an Assistant Patient Dining Manager, she is ready to take on a new role as a Learning and Development Trainer.

We wish her all the best on her new journey and I hope this article helps you understand how much organisation and effort is put into the meals that the NHS provides.