A government hospital at Pathanamthitta district in Kerala has set up an in-house kitchen, run by the medical staff itself, to ensure homely food to patients, doctors, nurses and other staff involved in COVID-19 care.
The Pathanamthitta General Hospital took this initiative as only vegetarian food was being served from the community kitchens and some patients in the COVID care wards were not satisfied with regularly having vegetarian food. Hence to keep the patients as well as the medical team feel at home, the in-house kitchen was initiated.
The General Hospital Superintendent Dr Sajan Mathew said that the hospital medical staff prepare the food under the directions of the hospital dietician. The food from the community kitchen is also being availed while local delicacies, including non-vegetarian dishes, are prepared at the in-house kitchen. Breakfast, evening snacks and dinner are also being prepared.
The staff council of the hospital is managing the in-house kitchen with assistance from the hospital management committee and contributions from doctors and staff.
The in-house kitchen was also initiated as a precautionary measure to ensure food to the patients and staff in case of any community spread which would affect the food supply to the hospital.
At present, there are seven patients at the COVID-19 ward, of which five are positive, said Dr Sajan.