// Costcutter builds 20 pop-ups in NHS hospitals
// The retailer aims to serve key workers who cannot leave the hospital to buy essentials
Costcutter has installed 20 pop-up stores in NHS hospitals to serve doctors and nurses who are unable to travel to stores amid the coronavirus crisis.
The retailer said it has worked in partnership with food service giant Compass to launch the stores.
It added that the new shops will fill units left by the temporary closure of some non-essential retail spaces across the hospital sites.
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The pop-up stores will provide NHS workers access to staple products such as bread and milk.
“With a number of retail units forced to close due to the Covid-19 crisis, it is vitally important that the NHS staff at these hospitals can easily get hold of core grocery and household products that they need,” Costcutter head of national retail accounts Bill Randles said.
Compass UK & Ireland managing director of healthcare retail Andrew Jones said: “By putting in place these pop-up stores, we can take away a small amount of the pressure they are feeling at this challenging time.”
Full list of hospitals with pop-up Costcutter stores:
Addenbrooke’s Hospital
Cambridge
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Birmingham
St Richard’s Hospital
Chichester
Worthing Hospital
Worthing
National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery
London
Barnet hospital
London
Ealing Hospital
Middlesex
Northwick Park Hospital
London
Peterborough City Hospital
Cambridgeshire
St. Helens Hospital
Merseyside
Whiston Hospital
Prescot, Merseyside
Kings Mill Hospital
Nottinghamshire
North Middlesex Hospital
London
Southend Hospital
Essex
Leeds General Infirmary
Leeds
Bradford Royal Infirmary
Bradford
Newcastle Royal Infirmary
Newcastle
Kings College Hospital
London
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary
Huddersfield
Royal Surrey County Hospital
Surrey
The news comes after Tesco announced plans to open pop-up convenience stores at NHS Nightingale sites nationwide to provide frontline health care workers easy access to essentials.
The Big 4 grocer selected the NEC in Birmingham as its first dedicated NHS Nightingale Hospital pop-up store, with construction already commenced and due for completion by the end of this week.
Discussions are in place to open other pop-up sites at the Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Harrogate and London’s ExCel centre.
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