Hospital HACCP

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is Barbados’s primary acute care medical facility with 600 beds. Seven days a week this public hospital provides breakfast, lunch and supper to its vulnerable patients. With over 1,200 meals served daily, the QEH is one of Barbados’s largest food catering facilities.

In January 2016 the QEH embarked on a far reaching programme called the ‘Achieving Improved Measurement (AIM) Programme’. The initiative determined to have a number of services internationally credentialed which included: Hospital-wide Accreditation, Recertification under the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative of UNICEF/PAHO, Laboratory Accreditation, HACCP Certification to Improve Food Safety and Information Security Management (ISO 27001) for improving information security management.

As part of their HACCP pillar the CEO of the QEH, Dr Dexter James, selected C&G International to work with the hospital’s Food Services Department to implement the food safety system.

Following a HACCP Gap Audit the C&G International consultants provided the QEH CEO and Senior Management Team with a detailed analysis of the areas which needed strengthening and a road map of how the HACCP project would be undertaken.

Throughout the 12 month project implementation period C&G International;
• Created a programme of Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs) for the project
• Provided training to over 150 employees on their role in Food Safety
• Trained the HACCP Team
• Worked closely with the HACCP Team to facilitate the HACCP meetings and maintain the progress of the project
• Assisted the Team to establish the correct level of documentation to support the HACCP system.
• Advised the Engineering department on upgrades to the physical plant
• Met periodically with an Oversight Management Committee to ensure financial resources were provided for the project, as well as updating Management on the progress of the HACCP project
• Trained the Internal Audit Team
• Undertook mini-audits to monitor the progress of the project
• Assisted in the training of the CCP Monitors
• Advised on post 3rd party audit actions

In 2017 after an intense 2.5 day conformance audit by one of the world’s leading certification companies, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital became the first public hospital in the region to achieve HACCP certification for its Food Service Department.

The intense work of the QEH HACCP Coordinator and the HACCP Team cannot be understated. The level of dedication and determination to succeed was inspirational. C&G International would also like to acknowledge the constant support of the CEO and Senior Management at the QEH for the entirety of the  HACCP Project.