Hygiene and food safety program conducted on Saba

In the third week of June MeduProf-S expert Pascal Driessen provided the Healthcare Foundation and the Honourable Henry Carlyle Every Home for the Elderly on Saba with a hygiene and food safety program. The program focussed at the implementation of a structured approach of hygiene. The training handled hygiene and food safety in the facilities of the clinic as well as concerning the storage, preparation and distribution of food in the clinic and the home. Most important training aspect was the improvement of the hygiene awareness of all staff concerned.

Staff as well as management was impressed with the expertise of the trainer and his flexible and empathic approach. The schedules, checklists and other materials as offered, were implemented right away.

The training on Saba was followed by an HACCP (food safety control) implementation in the White Yellow Cross on Sint Maarten. Here MeduProf-S was asked to support the kitchen staff to comply with the strict rules on food safety as enforced by the inspection on public health and health care. Pascal Driessen provided the kitchen staff with up to date matrices and forms to plan and check the status of food and of the hygiene in the kitchen and storage rooms.  Specific attention was laid on the handling of food during the distribution process. Discussions about hygiene and the background of food safety rules were perhaps even more important than the rules and procedures themselves.  In this way the participants including the chef learned why and how to implement these rules. The last day was spent to reorganize kitchen and storage rooms according to the new insights. The kitchen staff felt in the end well equipped and has confidence in the implemented approach.