Patients and wards

Patient and ward records provide the required links for every meal order. A patient record identifies the person by name and can carry contact information. A ward record holds a ward number, type, capacity and availability status. The Property Manager checks both before requesting service, since a wrong patient link or an unavailable ward changes the case that staff and finance will later see.

For example, a patient is associated with a ward whose status is Available. The Property Manager checks the ward number and capacity, then creates the order for that patient and ward. During preparation the ward can become Occupied. After service, Cleaning precedes a return to Available once the cleaning inspection passes. The order and any assigned task remain linked to the same ward throughout.

• Source identity. Confirm the linked order and its patient and ward before acting on a related record.
• Current work. Use the relevant status, date and assignee to identify what needs attention today.
• Evidence. Keep the charge, receipt or completed task associated with the order that caused it.

Agree where patient names and contact updates come from, and how a correction is applied to an open order. Check the ward number, type, capacity and current status at intake. Availability is a state of the ward record; the order’s interval still needs its own overlap check before acceptance. The Property Manager should define who reviews capacity when multiple orders refer to the same ward.

Keep the ward’s Cleaning and Maintenance states distinct from task status. A completed Cleaning task is evidence for review, while the ward state changes only after the Property Manager checks the result. Decide what the next shift must see before selecting that ward for another patient.

Pick a patient record and a ward with known capacity. The Property Manager creates a Requested order and checks the patient link, ward number and service dates. Add a second overlapping request to test the capacity decision. Accept only the order that fits the current ward state and count. Ask the Front Desk Agent to identify the patient and ward on the accepted order without relying on an external list.

After preparation, inspect the ward’s Occupied status and its linked tasks. Complete the Cleaning task, review the inspection result and move the ward to Available only when ready for reuse. If the patient or ward selection was wrong, correct the source case and review acceptance again before moving service forward.

• Ward readiness — Compare ward status, type, number and capacity before selecting a ward.
• Meal order queue — Check which orders already use the ward during the service interval.

See the working process for the record handoffs and the data model for the references behind them.