A future-proof meal planning system for Iceland’s largest hospital

When the previous meal planning system reached its end of life, Reykjavík’s University Hospital had to quickly find an alternative to support its large and growing food service organization. Matilda was the only solution that could meet the hospital’s extensive requirements. Today, the new system serves as the central hub for all food service information and activities, ensuring safe, quality meals for patients.

Landspítali in Reykjavík is Iceland’s leading hospital. It is also the country’s largest employer in healthcare and has a capacity of approximately 700 beds. The hospital’s food and nutrition services team provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner to patients at the main hospital, as well as to wards in different locations across the Reykjavík area.

The previous meal planning system at Landspítali functioned adequately but had several shortcomings that concerned the nutrition team. In particular, they lacked the necessary support when issues arose, and the system was no longer being updated. There was a constant concern that the system might fail, which would have catastrophic consequences for the hospital’s food service operations.

When the vendor announced the system’s discontinuation, the hospital began searching for a new solution. After evaluating alternatives across Europe, Landspítali chose Matilda – a proven solution widely used by public sector organizations in the Nordic countries.

“We had a long list of requirements that the new meal planning system needed to fulfill to support both our current and future needs. Matilda was the only system that met all our criteria,” said Fríða Rún Þórðardóttir, Nutritionist at Landspítali.

One of the most significant improvements with Matilda is its integration with the hospital’s patient system. This connection eliminates a great deal of manual work and enhances service quality. Patient data flows directly into Matilda, ensuring that the food and nutrition team always has up-to-date information on patient arrivals, discharges, allergies, and special dietary needs. This allows them to prepare and serve the right meal to the right patient at the right time.

Today, Matilda is at the core of daily operations for nutritionists and chefs:

• All recipes are integrated into the system.
• The food service team plans menus, and the system automatically calculates nutritional values and ingredient quantities for each meal.
• The procurement team can easily determine what food items are needed and in what quantities.
• Ward staff place orders directly in Matilda, with patient allergy and dietary information automatically linked to each order.
• Production lists are generated so kitchen staff know exactly what and how much food to prepare.
• Matilda provides printed tray cards, allowing hospital staff and patients to verify meal details, including information about allergenes and type of meat.
• Matilda is also underway to be connected to the hospital’s digital app, enabling patients to view menus and rate meals via their mobile phones or tablets.
  
  

“Thanks to Matilda, we have a closer connection with our patients. The integration with our patient system ensures we have up-to-date information that helps us serve the right meals to the right patients. The digital menu and tray cards provide information that helps improve appetite, so patients better enjoy the food we serve,” said Mia Teichert Ohlsen, Nutritionist at Landspítali.

Landspítali now has a robust meal planning system in place to support its organization today – and in the future. The benefits are numerous: faster forecasting, easy access to statistics, reduced manual work, and streamlined processes in the kitchen, to name a few.

However, perhaps the most valuable benefit is the sense of security that Matilda provides – both as a stable, proven system and through its dedicated support team.

“We are really happy with the Matilda team! We meet with them regularly to get help with any questions and to ensure we are using the system to its full potential. They have deep knowledge of both the system and our organization, which means they always find solutions quickly,” said Bára Hlín Þorsteinsdóttir, Nutritionist at Landspítali.

Written by: Jenny Gruvfält