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PATIENTS, staff, and visitors to a borough hospital can grab a quick coffee, snack, or meal, thanks to a recently opened caféteria.
A previous tea bar facility run by RVS had been closed, leaving a vacuum.
Wokingham Hospital’s new Friends Coffee House has been opened by charity, League of Friends Of Berkshire Hospitals.
It was officially launched by Dr Christina Hill Williams DL, High Sheriff of Berkshire, and president of the League Of Friends of Berkshire Hospitals, with the event attended by Wokingham Borough Council mayor, CllrBeth Rowland, and Wokingham town mayor, Cllr Sally Gurney.
At his address, Mr Dolinski thanked the café staff, and partners Absolute Mobility, Wokingham In Need, and Building Berkshire Together for their contributions to making the café a success.
He also extended his thanks to the charity’s trustees, and to Dr Christina Hill Williams for opening the café.
Dr Williams said: “It’s a great pleasure to be here this evening.
“Doors close and doors open, and today we have been able to open a major door in Wokingham Hospital.
“The venue is absolutely fabulous, and I hope that people will enjoy using it.”
The Wokingham Friends Coffee House runs as a business, with all profits going to the NHS.
Mr Dolinski said: “It’s a real oasis. “There’s a garden at the back, and it’s deliberately designed to look like any high street coffee shop.
“You don’t feel as though you are in a hospital at all.”
The café benefits from intelligent information systems that allow staff to prepare for different customer needs throughout the day.
“We know who comes into the shop, and if they are a patient, a visitor, or a member of staff,” Mr Dolinski explained.
“We learn what they bought, and at what time of day.”
Having this kind of information enables staff to plan and prepare for busy times of day.
“In the mornings we know that contractors are likely to come in for bacon butties with a cup of tea,” he continued.
“In the afternoon we provide good quality cakes, teas and coffees which we know are likely to appeal to visitors.
“Jacket potatoes are very popular with nursing staff at lunchtimes, and in the evenings, we know exactly when six or seven consultants in a hurry will drop in all at once to grab a coffee – which we have ready and waiting for them.
“Having such specific information helps us to be very slick, and to eliminate waste.”
The café is already popular with staff, patients and visitors alike.
Almost all of the income it generates will go to the NHS, with only 5% paying for operation and administration of the shop.
“It’s really exciting that we can deliver 95% of our income to the NHS,” Mr Dolenski continued.
“Any company with these profits would be absolutely delighted, and it’s down to all the hard work of everyone involved.
“Our staff and volunteers are very important to us– we don’t just want to recruit people, we want to retain them too.
“They are a quality team doing a great job, and we value them all, the café’s profits are a valuable resource for the hospital.
“Charities like ours are filling the gaps, but our role is changing,” Mr Dolenski continued.
“The sort of bids the NHS is putting in for grants is altering.
“In the past they would ‘bake the cake’ and we would ‘put the cherry on the top’.
“Now we are baking the cake too– these days we are being asked to provide pieces of essential equipment, like ECG machines.”
Wokingham Borough Council mayor Cllr Beth Rowland said: “The League of Friends has done an awful lot of work, and it’s great to see this come to fruition.
“The café is an absolutely fabulous replacement for the facilities at Wokingham Hospital.”
Wokingham town mayor cllr Sally Gurney said: “It’s so lovely that there is a café here again.
“It’s a really valuable resource for patients, visitors, and staff, and it’s so good to hear how much of the profit goes back into NHS equipment.”
Previously, staff had nowhere to wind down away from busy wards and clinical work.
Now staff and visitors to Wokingham Hospital have somewhere to sit down and relax.
For information about the work of the League Of Friends of Berkshire Hospitals, visit: www.friendsofberkshirehospitals.co.uk
