Very sad day: The closure of the WRVS at withybush in favour of Costa. (Pic Lesley Cloud)

A PHOTOGRAPH showing the final day of the Cafe run by the WRVS at Withybush General Hospital caused outrage on social media on Wednesday (Dec 30).

By the time we were going to press on New Year’s Eve over 500 people had shared and 600 people had liked a post by Lesley Cloud saying: “A very sad say with the closure of the WRVS at Withybush is favour of Costa. Shame on you Hywel Dda Health Board.

Out of 117 people who had commented on Facebook at the time of going to press, not one person had said anything positive about the health board’s plan.

Here is a small sample of the remarks online.

Jane Merrony commented: “ Horrified to read this. The volunteers here are superb, always a smile for whatever news you may have just had or are waiting for. Don’t suppose you will get that from an employee somehow. Thank you to all you special ladies, it must be a very sad time for you all”

Caronline Quirk added : “I am so sorry, as much as I like Costa it has no place in Withybush or any hospital, the WRVS has done well over the years, a big thank you to all.”

Sally Mumford  said:  “This is really sad. I use this lovely cafe every couple of months with my son for his Audiology apps, lovely ladies make u feel welcome. I won’t be using Costa Coffee!”

Angela Atherton said: “ What a loss to the hospital, patients and visitors. Nothing better than a proper fresh sandwich and a cuppa. Costa is far too expensive.”

Hywel Dda has appointed Medirest, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, to provide new café and retail services for patients, staff and visitors across all acute hospital sites, following a competitive bidding process.

The board has given its approval for Medirest to provide Costa Coffee units and Amigo shops at Withybush, Glangwili, and Prince Philip hospitals, and a Deli Marche coffee and combined shop outlet at Bronglais.

Some facilities will be temporarily closed as the fit-out works are completed, however dining room facilities will continue to be available during this time.

The health board is also working closely with the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) – which currently provides some of the cafe and shop services – to explore ways of retaining the services of its volunteers in the healthcare community, where they can continue to make a positive difference to patients.

Discussions have already taken place between health board representatives and the RVS with a number of initiatives proposed, including a hospital-based befriending service to complement the strong links the health board has with hospital care services and the RVS at Bronglais.

Steve Moore, Chief Executive of Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “Medirest demonstrated they could deliver a great quality and scope of service, as well as refurbished cafe areas.

“We are very mindful that for many years Glangwili and Withybush hospitals have been provided with highly regarded, first class services by the RVS for patients, staff and visitors.

“We hold the RVS employees and volunteers in high regard and we hope to continue to work with them in different roles within the healthcare setting in the future.”

As part of the bidding process, interested parties were asked to outline their plans for the refurbishment of areas of the hospitals at zero cost to the health board, in order to generate income for the organisation through rent and turnover rent. This can be used to improve the hospital environment for patients and visitors.

Andrew Jones, Retail Operations Director Healthcare, Compass Group UK & Ireland added: “We’re looking forward to working with the health board from January, to work across the four hospitals in Wales. We’ll be implementing our trusted partner brands in these sites and we think it will offer an enhanced service to patients, visitors and staff, as well as offer a source of income for the health board.”

Peter Llewellyn, Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships at Hywel Dda, added: “A positive meeting was held with representatives of the RVS, and a number of initiatives are being proposed to manage volunteers at Withybush and Glangwili hospitals with a view to strengthening our relationship with the RVS in recognition of the huge contribution they have made over a number of years.”