15.03.05
NHS Food First Tenants

The first tenants have moved into one of the Knowledge Spa's business incubation units. The offices are in a purpose-built area of the £14 million Knowledge Spa, on the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust's Treliske site, near Truro. The offices and shared hot desk facilities are a result of investment from the Objective One European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the South West Regional Development Agency and are available to help health related businesses get off the ground or expand.

Those businesses are then helped by being close to all the resources of Cornwall's main hospital as well as hi tech equipment and a well stocked health library at the Knowledge Spa itself.

The first tenant is the Cornwall Food Programme, whose four-person team was originally based in shared offices at the Royal Cornwall Hospital itself.

The Food Programme, which began in 2001 after receiving investment from the Objective One European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), is all about sourcing Cornish produce for hospital patients, staff and visitors. So far the 23 hospital sites around Cornwall are supplied with Cornish produced cheese, sandwiches, ice cream, yoghurt, fish, fruit, vegetables and meat. A contract for milk is currently out to tender with two Cornish suppliers interested.

Nathan Harrow, Project Manager, said: "In this day and age food you can trust is so important. We have such fantastic quality produce in Cornwall and the more we can get onto the patients' plates the better. It is also good for the producers because we are here 365 days a year so contracts are not just seasonal. "We have noticed the difference since we moved into the Knowledge Spa. For a start we are all together so communication is better and the facilities are superb."

The team comprising of Mr Harrow, Mike Pearson Project Director, Roy Heath Sustainable Food Procurement Manager, and Katie Pearson Administration Assistant are backed by all five health trusts. Cornwall Partnership Trust is the leader of the project with its Chief Executive Tony Gardner chairing the project board.

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: "This scheme has so many applications. By sourcing locally it raises Cornwall food producers' incomes, it means patients get good, healthy food and it cuts the miles food is transported. I look forward to seeing many more businesses moving into the incubation units as to have the private sector working closely with the NHS is an effective way for companies to guarantee long term, lucrative contracts."

The NHS Food programme team are now working hard to get a massive central food production unit up and running. Based at Barncoose Industrial Estate, near Redruth, the Central Food Production Unit would have the capacity to cater 3,000 meals a day for Cornwall's hospitals. There would also be scope for other food businesses to use the cutting edge equipment, such as blast freezing, so their food could be processed locally, cutting "food miles".

For further information please contact Clare Morgan on 01782 223439 or email cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk.

The £14 million Knowledge Spa is the first phase and centrepiece of the Well Cornwall Project, which has had £1.25 million investment from Objective One. It is expected to attract upwards of 400 jobs. About 250 of those will be created through research and business start-up activity, which is expected to contribute £22 million to the local economy.

Editor's notes:

The £14 million Knowledge Spa opened in September 2004. The Spa hosts the Cornwall Campus of the Peninsula Medical School, the Cornwall Campus of the University of Plymouth's Faculty of Health and Social Work, the Cornwall Centre for Lifelong Learning for health and social care personnel and a health-based Research and Development Centre. This is the first phase and centrepiece of the Well Cornwall Project, which has had investment from Objective One (£1.25 million) and SWRDA. The Business Unit incorporates four self contained incubation units for new or existing business. An additional pre-incubation open plan area will help inventors and innovators to test and develop their ideas through to commercialisation. Plans are also underway for a nearby medi-park to house research and businesses. The Medi Park will offer a further incubation centre; "grow on" managed workspace and land available for companies to develop their own facilities, with the extra attraction of the nearby facilities of the Knowledge Spa.

It is expected to attract upwards of 400 jobs. About 250 of those will be created through research and business start-up activity, which is expected to contribute £22 million to the local economy.

The post of Roy Heath, Sustainable Food Procurement Manager for the NHS Food programme, has received investment from the Organic South West Soil Association, an Objective One gateway fund. Organic South West is part funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and DEFRA under the Objective One Programme and is managed as a regional office of the Soil Association.

The Objective One Programme has also invested in a nine month feasibility study to investigate and identify improved ways in which the Cornwall healthcare community can develop food processing and meal production that will benefit patients, staff and visitors at hospitals throughout Cornwall.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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