The mammoth task of providing the 1 000 Groote Schuur Hospital patients with three nutritional meals a day , 365 days a year , has since late 2022 become more efficient and done in a staff-friendly environment thanks to this successful project .
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
PROJECT
Supplied by John Ackermann
The historic Groote Schuur Hospital now houses a museum where the first heart transplant was done .
Groote Schuur Hospital : modern catering services for 1 000 patients Written by John Ackermann
The mammoth task of providing the 1 000 Groote Schuur Hospital patients with three nutritional meals a day , 365 days a year , has since late 2022 become more efficient and done in a staff-friendly environment thanks to this successful project .
The low temperature cold rooms , blast chillers , medium temperature cold rooms , racking , trolleys and refrigeration systems were replaced at Cape Town ’ s Groote Schuur Hospital . The government funded hospital in Observatory gained international fame in 1967 when Dr Chris Barnard performed the world ’ s first heart transplant . The building still stands and houses a museum of that historical event , as well as other chemical departments . In 1984 , two new wings were added to Groote Schuur to provide medical care for 1 000 patients .
After 38 years of service , the catering department that provides all meals on site , needed to be replaced and brought up to international standards . Some of the original refrigeration plant , with open drive Dorin compressors , had been replaced with Bitzer semi-hermetic compressors . When calling for tenders to revamp the catering department and replace all the refrigeration plant , Bitzer , Dorin and Bock were specified as accepted brands of compressors .
Supplied by John Ackermann
The project team ( left to right ) Craig Hill and Douglas James ( both of James Refrigeration ), Denton Smith ( hospital engineer ), Steven Edwards ( hospital technical department ) and Gavin Wiffen ( Eurocool ).
PREFERRED SEMI-HERMETIC COMPRESSORS
After a transparent tendering process James Refrigeration cc – which has for many years done work for the Cape Administration – was successful in being awarded the contract and commenced work on the site early in 2022 . The water-cooled condensers and the cold rooms with poor thermal performance , had to be stripped out completely and replaced , with minimal disruption to the daily catering services .
The governmentfunded Groote Schuur Hospital in Observatory gained international fame in 1967 when Dr Chris Barnard performed the world ’ s first heart transplant .
COLD LINK AFRICA • November 2023 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za 21