Major High Street retail names heading to hospital’s new wing

Two of the biggest names on the high street, Costa Coffee and M&S Simply Food, are heading to Bradford Royal Infirmary as part of its multi-million pound new major development.

These well-known brands will be offering great food and drink choices and improving the experience of patients, visitors and staff.

Work is now well underway on a new £28 million hospital wing which will house new wards for children and the elderly as well as a state-of-the-art intensive care unit, and as part of the transformation, the hospital’s main entrance in Duckworth Lane will also undergo a major overhaul.

The refurbished entrance will provide new modern retail outlets and alongside Costa and M&S Simply Food, will be a Lifestyle restaurant, offering all-day dining, as well as ‘24’, a self-service kiosk selling food, drinks and snacks.

Staff, patients and visitors are already enjoying other new food and drink facilities which have recently opened elsewhere on the hospital complex - two Delimarche catering outlets, located in the Women’s and Newborn Unit and Field House are now up and running.

A third Delimarche located on the ground floor of St Luke’s Hospital has also just opened.

All the new food and retail services are being delivered by Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food services company. Its Healthcare Retail division has a proven track record of developing and operating more than 175 retail units across the NHS.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive, Professor Clive Kay said: “We are delighted to be working with Compass Group UK & Ireland, an organisation which has a wealth of experience in delivering excellent retail facilities including High Street brands, to a significant number of hospitals across the country.

“We held extensive consultations with both patients and staff to find out what they wanted, and it is this feedback which has influenced our decision to work with Compass in order to bring these well-known high street brands to our hospitals.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for the Trust, and the new outlets will greatly enhance the experience of patients, visitors and staff; these are modern services for a modern hospital and complement our new hospital wing.”

Steve Cenci, Managing Director, Healthcare, Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to bring a range of retail outlets to the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Experience has shown that having branded food outlets at hospitals, help to provide variety, familiarity and a more positive environment for patients, visitors and staff. Therefore, we hope that the inclusion of Costa and M&S Simply Food will be well received by customers.

“We have also worked to ensure healthy eating options are available across all the outlets, to help support the Trust’s visions of delivering healthy eating.”

The opening of the new retail units will begin from mid-December with the aim to have them all launched by the end of January 2017.

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For any enquiries relating to Compass Group UK & Ireland, contact the Communications Team on 01895 554 999 or email uk.communications@compass-group.co.uk