A CITY hotel’s new health and safety measures have been given the seal of approval from top surgeon, Professor Mike Griffin, as Edinburgh’s tourism industry reboots.
Ten Hill Place Hotel used their experience providing free accommodation and meals to NHS workers during the height of the pandemic to perfect their health and safety practices for reopening last month.
The hotel has been praised for its efforts by Professor Mike Griffin, the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd).
The new measures include the use of QR codes for collecting diners’ contact details, hand sanitiser stations around the hotel, and an innovative key card oven for hands-free cleaning. The sanitising oven uses ultraviolet technology to stop the risk of cross contamination from key cards being passed to different guests.
Behind the scenes, Ten Hill Place has undertaken risk assessments of all areas, and all staff have undergone rigorous training modules on health and safety.
Scott Mitchell, Managing Director at Surgeons Quarter, said: “We are all delighted to be open again and welcoming guests back to Ten Hill Place. We hope the extensive measures in place will ensure our guests are as relaxed as possible, and are still able to enjoy our warm Scottish hospitality.
“Hosting the NHS workers enabled us to assess all of our health and safety measures and put in place new protocols in light of COVID-19, while cooperating with our guests.
“We accommodated frontline guests in all extremities of the bedrooms within the hotel to ensure water systems were running smoothly and to prevent Legionella. We also had our lightning conductor tested to make sure everything we could possibly think of was covered!”
Professor Griffin paid a visit to Ten Hill Place and found the team had gone above and beyond in establishing protocols that facilitated safe service, while maintaining the crucial ability to make guests feel comfortable during a pandemic.
The Professor – who was awarded an OBE in 2013 off the back of his work overseeing huge improvements to cancer cure rates at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary – said: “I am absolutely delighted that Ten Hill Place is open again and ready to welcome back guests.
“I am truly astonished at the level of detail the team have put in to ensure all Scottish Government guidelines are adhered to whilst the Hotel still looks really welcoming and not clinical.”
Scott Mitchell added: “We are uniquely placed here at Surgeons Quarter that we have access to the experience of the membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
“We can draw on clinical and medical input to enhance everything that we are doing in these times.
“Of course, we follow all Government advice and industry protocols but we further benefit from the experience of surgeons, clinicians and dentists. If they feel we are doing everything we can, I see this as a great endorsement for all guests to feel comfortable within Ten Hill Place”.
The hotel reopened on 15 July in accordance with Scottish Government guidance.
Ten Hill Place remained open from March to May in order to provide 2,137 free nights of accommodation and thousands of meals to frontline NHS workers during the Coronavirus pandemic – at a cost of more than £100,000 to the charitable organisation.
Ten Hill Place is run by Surgeons Quarter, the commercial arm of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RSCEd). Surgeons Quarter promotes, sells and manages all commercial activities held within the RCSEd campus.
All profits support the charitable aims of the College which are education, assessment and advancement in surgical standards worldwide.
Bookings for Ten Hill Place can be made at www.tenhillplace.com, by calling 0131 662 2080 or by emailing reservations@tenhillplace.com.