// Under a 4-year licencing agreement with the NHS, Beales is set to build a health village
// It will house dermatology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and more
In an effort to reduce long hospital waiting lines, Beales has struck a four-year licencing agreement with the NHS to build a “health village” on the top floor of its Poole store.
The 17,000 sq ft top floor of Beales’ Dolphin Centre store is set to be converted into a secure clinical area for tests and screening.
It will house dermatology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and breast cancer screening departments, as well as wellbeing rooms, and counselling rooms for those suffering from long-Covid.
READ MORE: Beales: What went wrong?
The move is in response to the growing waiting lists following cancellations amid the Covid pandemic.
Work will start in September and is set to be completed in the autumn.
The Beales department store chain collapsed into administration at the start of 2020, 139 years after it was founded in Bournemouth.
Following the administration, all 21 Beales stores closed and the group liquidated stock after receiving no offers to buy the business.
Last year a new company, New Start 2020, bought the Beales IP address and brand, and hired Brown, chief executive of the old business, to launch a new store in Poole in August 2020.
The retailer has since reopened its Beales store in Peterborough city centre, as well as its Southport store.
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