The right prescription

The buoyant market for high-street coffee shops is transferring to the hospital setting. With hospitals now more commercially aware than ever, they are recognising the growing demands from consumers.

As Jeremy Dicks, retail operations director of Gardner Merchant Healthcare, says: "Customers and hospital staff are dictating higher levels. There will always be a role for voluntary organisations like the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS), but hospitals realise they need to generate income and offer visitors and staff more discerning outlets."

Gardner Merchant Healthcare has recently opened a coffee shop called Street Café at the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff. It is part of a retail development that includes outlets such as Sock Shop and a newsagent, and links a multi-storey car park with the main hospital entrance.

The retail developer Healthcare approached Gardner Merchant Healthcare, which already had a connection with the hospital through two of its managers who were on a year's contract in the hospital's in-house catering department. As well as patient catering, the in-house caterers operate a staff cafeteria, while WRVS volunteers serve sandwiches, cups of tea and confectionery to visitors.

Speciality coffees

Street Café has a self-service counter where customers purchase coffee and snacks and then sit in a communal seating area, with 120 seats. It offers speciality coffee including caffé latte and macchiato, cakes, pastries and baguettes, as well as a choice of three hot snacks.

Business has been brisk, with sales increasing by 21% since it opened four months ago. On average, 700 people visit the coffee shop each day, with an average spend of £2.10 and total sales of £10,000 a week. The client base is a mix of staff and visitors, with staff peaking at lunchtime for the take-away service.

"It's not operating at its full capacity as not all the other hospital entrances are closed," says managing director, Gardner Merchant Healthcare, Vince Pearson. "The idea is to channel all visitors through the main entrance." This is a critical factor - Dicks reported that the week beginning 9 November has been the busiest so far with covers averaging 800 per day. That week, one of the old entrances was closed, resulting in people being channelled through the main entrance.

But although it's borrowed from the high street, it operates differently. Pearson believes that hospital visitors are looking for a comfort purchase - "you need to understand the emotional aspects of people visiting a hospital" - while staff want something different.

Gardner Merchant Healthcare has a 10-year lease on the coffee shop and pays a guaranteed level of rent. If the takings are more than predicted, then a percentage is paid.

Equipment investment at Street Café includes a Leone coffee machine (£3,500); a Dollar Rae bespoke bakery-style counter with display cabinets (£30,000); a Baker's Oven bake-off oven (£2,500); and Ary chairs (£8,000).

Pearson sees great potential for coffee shops of this nature in hospitals, but the approach must be right: "It's more a question of opportunities and finding the right offer than just opening up coffee shops."

Strollers Deli

At Kings College Hospital, Dulwich, the brasserie will be converted in January by Gardner Merchant Healthcare into a Strollers Deli, serving baguettes and filter coffees, with a coffee cart offering speciality coffees being introduced outside for fast service.

And Strollers To Go, the company's branded take-away unit, has been installed at Goodhope Hospital, Birmingham, and is due to be introduced at Liverpool Women's Hospital in January. At present, there are no plans to open any further Street Café outlets.

The coffee shop trend has also attracted the attention of in-house caterers. The team at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, which has 1,800 staff, created an alternative facility to the Swannery, the traditional staff restaurant.

The result is Le Bistro, a trendy Continental-style coffee shop for staff and patients. "Some visitors have been amazed at what we have achieved at Le Bistro," says operational support services manager, Steve Morgan. "You could be anywhere from Copenhagen to Soho."

The upmarket café, which was officially opened by Albert Roux a year ago, is booming. Part of its success, Morgan says, is its flexibility.

"When I did research into high-street coffee shops, they standardise everything - each outlet offers the same. We can be more flexible in the price and offer more options - we're 30-40% cheaper than high-street prices."

Le Bistro evolved from a new design Bedford NHS Trust was exploring for the front entrance. "Instead of a void, I saw a tremendous opportunity," says Morgan.

Morgan says the total sales in the Swannery, the 200-seat main restaurant in the hospital, was £300 per day when he joined five years ago, but today it averages £2,000 a day. "The trust had seen what I had achieved in the Swannery and so they were enthusiastic about this project," he says.

Le Bistro, which has 54 seats, with four bar stools, is self-service, with a range of light meals including soups and pasta, as well as a choice of umpteen baguettes and bagels and a take-away service at lunchtime.

Coffee served is either cappuccino, espresso or filter. Delice de France supplies par-baked speciality breads including baguettes, ciabatta and soda bread. The peak time is from 11am to 2.30pm and from 10am to 10.30am when it's break time for hospital staff.

Cross-section of customers

The financial results have surpassed Morgan's expectations, with a turnover of £10,000 a month and 30% profit. "We don't know how many people use Le Bistro, as we haven't done an audit," he says.

"It attracts a cross-section of people from senior managers having an informal meeting, hall porters and consultants to casual walk-ins including people having outpatient appointments, X-rays or physiotherapy or a spouse who has dropped off their partner for day surgery.

The set-up costs of Le Bistro were £80,000. "We didn't go for the cheap and cheerful," says Morgan. "Grundy put the specification together - we got quality furniture from Primo and the Fratini coffee machine cost £4,000."

Le Bistro, which is run by three staff, dovetails with the Swannery, with light meals available from 11am to 4pm. The coffee shop closes at 6.30pm. "There's less custom in the evenings and the Swannery is open for evening meals," Morgan explains.

So will this trend for coffee shops and cafés in hospitals continue? Certainly if the high-street coffee shop boom is anything to go by, they are set to increase. But, as Le Bistro and Street Café have demonstrated, the offer has to be tailored to suit the market.