VALE TEA BAR IS CUP AND RUNNING AGAIN
By Lucy Ashton
The Vale’s Tea-bar is open for business again, with the Royal Voluntary Service re-opening the much-loved café.Having closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, this week saw the welcome return of a place to get a hot drink or snack near the hospital’s main entrance.
RVS shop manager Pauline McGonagle said: “People often have to travel quite a distance to attend the Vale and sometime they’ll arrive early thinking they’ll have an issue with parking.
“That’s not really the case at the Vale, and in winter you often see people sitting waiting in their cars.
“Now they can come in and get a seat in the Tea-bar and a hot drink, which is a much better way to prepare for their appointment than sitting in the car park.”
From the moment the shutter went up on Monday morning the café attracted a steady stream of visitors and staff alike, with most people saying they would use the Tea-bar regularly from now on, and would spread the word about it being back in business.
RVS Retail Support Manager Scotland Andy Roberts said: “We had a great first day and we’ve been getting some useful feedback from those who have popped in.
“We’ll take what people have said onboard, and see if there are any things we need to tweak to make sure that we’re offering people what they want.”
Vale of Leven Hospital Clinical Services Manager Margaret O’Rourke added: “It’s great to see the Tea-bar back in operation after having been closed for so long.
“It has been missed and the way people have supported it reopening shows just shows how much it contributes to the daily activity in the hospital.”
* RVS are operating the Tea-bar Monday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm and RVS volunteers Ann McNabb, Marion Wilson and Lisa Smith are ready to serve you.