MICHELIN-STARRED chef Sat Bains has visited an operating theatre at the Queen's Medical Centre – to pick up tips about how other professions cope under pressure.
The Nottingham chef swapped his cooking apron for operating scrubs to watch top Nottingham bowel surgeon Charles Maxwell-Armstrong remove a cancerous tumour from a male patient.
"It is an honour and a great privilege to be here and watch these experts at work," he said.
Mr Maxwell-Armstrong had already visited Sat Bains' kitchen to learn how the chef runs his team of cooks. He commented: "I was incredibly impressed with the awareness Sat had of everything that was going on around him.
"When you are cooking a ten-course meal for 15 people to such a high standard you really have to rely on your team members.
"I wasn't interested in the culinary techniques but more in how they all communicated with each other. Also the speed with which they dealt with problems that arose was remarkably impressive."
Mr Maxwell-Armstrong, who has been working as a consultant at the QMC since 2002, was researching how operating theatres could be improved and made the initial contact with Mr Bains to see if the pair could learn from each other's workplace environments.
"We want Nottingham University Hospitals Trust to be of the same standard as Sat's Michelin-starred restaurant," said the surgeon.
Mr Bains could also see similarities between the two professions.
He explained: "When we get a delivery of fish, for example, the first thing you do is check the gills and the brightness of the eyes to make sure it's fresh
"And, in a way, this is what the surgeons are doing with the patients, prepping them and making sure they can handle the operation.
"Team is a really big word in my kitchen. When you are working with people for 16 hours a day you need to know people's strengthens and weaknesses.
"This whole process has been fascinating and I've been taking notes."
Surgeons at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have also worked with Formula 1 racing crews to see how they work under pressure.
What do you think of this initiative? Email newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk
