BIG High Street names Costa Coffee and M&S Simply Food are coming to Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) as part of its £28 million new wing development.

Hospital bosses say work is well under way on the wing which will house new wards for children and the elderly as well as a state-of-the-art intensive care unit and should be open by the end of this year.

As part of that transformation work, the BRI’s main entrance in Duckworth Lane will also be getting a major overhaul to include a new shopping experience for patients, visitors and staff.

The refurbished entrance will have the Costa and M&S Simply Food shops as well as an Amigos newsagents, an all-day Lifestyle restaurant and a 24-hour vended/kiosk service selling food, drinks and snacks.

Two Delimarche cafe bars have already opened in the Women’s and Newborn Unit and at the Trust’s Field House headquarters on the site, while a third has opened for business at St Luke’s Hospital on the ground floor.

Despite the arrival of all the the new food and drink outlets, the teabars loyally run by the Friends of BRI in the orthopaedic outpatients and Ear, Nose and Throat unit and at St Luke’s Hospital will carry on as usual.

The new food and retail services, which will pay rent to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, are being delivered by Compass Group UK and Ireland, the UK’s largest food services company.

The Trust’s Chief Executive, Professor Clive Kay, said: “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.”

Managing Director, Healthcare, Compass Group UK and Ireland Steve Cenci said: “Experience has shown that having branded food outlets at hospitals, helps 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 vision of delivering healthy eating.”

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