Iain's impressive track record of sourcing British - flexibility, engagement and a collective approach
Iain comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience of NHS catering, after leaving the armed forces where he initially trained as a chef; Iain took up what was meant to be a temporary position in a NHS hospital catering team. 23years later, Iain has worked in various roles in NHS catering gathering knowledge and skills which has supported him in successfully being in his current position as the Catering Manager at Solent NHS trust for the last 2.5 years.
Solent NHS Trust is a community and mental health trust delivering health services in Southampton, Portsmouth and parts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Iain has responsibility for five in-patient sites.
Alongside the day job, Iain is an active member of the Hospital Caterers Association and is the Branch Director for Wessex branch. Iain is also a member of the Hospital Food Review’s Expert Panel, working for NHS England and Improvement co-chairing the suppliers group. This puts Iain in a great position to support the ethos of using more British produce with open networks to many of the suppliers into the NHS. Iain has a comprehensive knowledge of all the different service styles in hospitals and understands the importance of working with food suppliers whether large or small to drive the use of British food in hospitals.
Iain very much believes in a collective influence with caterers working together regionally to promote and use British. Engaging with suppliers to work together in securing British produce and influencing suppliers buying methods. Iain suggests that using the word local could be restrictive and add some unnecessary barriers, but by simply using British this widens the area you could purchase from whilst still using British and local produce.
Iain’s catering service for patients is provided by an external company, purchasing meals that are then regenerated at ward level. The supplier of these meals supports SME businesses and the provenance of food. In the trusts retail areas, these are all in house operations that Iain’s team produce. It includes two restaurants; one seating 98 and the second seating 60. The restaurants are very much chef lead, with the team fully involved in menu planning and purchasing the produce.
A drive for this year in the retail areas is to further promote the use of British produce and to show and understand where the food actually comes from, whilst also making steps in its target to become zero carbon. Iain does use some local suppliers close to the Trust, including Pensworth, Medina Foods, Harvest Fine Foods and County foods. Iain explains how during the height of Covid “as we reacted to fast changing situations we on boarded new and local suppliers quickly and with ease. Many of these suppliers are not framework suppliers, proving that it is easy for Trusts to operate outside of the restraints of frameworks. As long as you do your due diligence by checking accreditations and site visits if necessary, it can be a very simple process”
Nationally, Iain’s Hospital Caterers Association branch has now added Love British Food as a regular agenda item to their branch meetings. Thus allowing a regular open channel of information sharing between Trusts.
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