High street names to open at Torbay Hospital

Published: 10 February 2017

Following a competitive tendering process, it has been announced that a duo of high street names will be moving into Torbay Hospital’s latest £15 million development project.

In the new main entrance, WH Smith will operate a convenience store and Aramark will run the adjacent 60-seater café – offering the newly launched Aroma coffee by Nero Roasting Company from the Caffè Nero brand.

The £15m project will deliver a brand new, state-of-the-art intensive care unit (ICU) at Torbay Hospital. As well as providing the local population with this new unit, the project will also provide dedicated accommodation facilities for relatives of those in the ICU as well as a warm and inviting new main entrance with a café, a shop and additional public amenities including an adult change facility.

With the main entrance and ICU developments due to open later this month (24 February 2017), our two partners will begin fitting-out their units, which will fully open for business in March 2017. Aramark will be offering a coffee-cart take-out service initially when the main entrance opens on 24 February while the Aroma café is completed.

Work began to prepare the site back in March 2015 and, in July 2015 a ‘groundbreaking’ ceremony marked the official start of the building work.

Lesley Darke, Director of Estates and Commercial Development at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time as we see the years of planning become a reality and as we transform the delivery of care for our patients, visitors and staff.

“We are very pleased to welcome these well-known retailers to the Torbay Hospital site and we are confident they will provide an excellent service to all visitors, patients and staff.

“The fitting out of the retail unit and café is currently underway and they will be open for business soon after the brand-new front entrance of the hospital opens its doors to patients, visitors and staff.

“We are very pleased to be opening this new facility that will see our services for the most critically ill patients being transferred into state-of-the-art accommodation fit for 21st Century standards of care, and the provision of much needed support services for the public and our staff.”

The opening hours and product range of each outlet is currently being finalised. However, they will operate seven days a week and will complement the other retail services run by the Trust and the Hospital’s League of Friends.

On 22 February the trust will be holding an official opening ceremony which will be closely followed by the first patients being admitted to the new ICU with the doors opening to the new main entrance on February 24.

Further information:

The trust’s current 10-bed Intensive Care Unit is now over 30 years old and whilst the staff support our patients to a very high standard in the current facilities, this new development will provide a state-of-the-art facility for this much valued service.

This major investment project will transform the delivery of care and will see a 14-bed ICU with all the latest technology and equipment required to provide a modern, patient focused environment.

This development has only been made possible by the hard work and support of our League of Friends and the very generous donations from local people who support Torbay Hospital in so many ways. The League has supported this project from the start, and has raised a staggering £1.6m through the ‘this is critical’ campaign to equip the new ICU with the latest high-tech equipment.