KING Edward VII Memorial Hospital’s Pink Café is struggling to keep its head above water and could face closure at the end of the year.The once thriving “mom and pop” store will now close on Saturdays and could face additional cutbacks once an independent review of its operations is completed.

The business is one of three run by the Hospital Auxiliary of Bermuda (HAB), the largest donor to the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB).

HAB president Josephine Wright said staff shortages and incidents of petty theft had plagued the café since its transformation into a modern deli approximately a year ago. She said she met with union representatives three weeks ago to discuss how the situation might be turned around.

According to one HAB member, however, the problem lies with the café’s new look and its “abusive and rude customers” which together are causing volunteers to leave the organisation in droves.

“You don’t have to put up with that when you’re volunteering,” she said, adding that the café had always operated as a quiet place where medical staff and families of patients could enjoy a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

However, since the HAB decided to make it more competitive with its other money maker — The Barn — business has gone “downhill”.

Mrs. Wright acknowledged there was a problem of abuse and said in many cases it came from people who brought their own food into the café and were asked to leave, at which point they turned on the elderly volunteers.

“This is one of the issues we are trying to deal with right now . . . you simply can’t do this in a restaurant in town,” she said.

“They are taking up tables and our paying customers haven’t got anywhere to sit. It’s very difficult for volunteers to go up to someone and ask them to leave and volunteering is supposed to be a nice experience.”

Petty theft has also contributed to the café’s decline. According to the president, items are being pocketed from the self-service counters and are not being paid for.

“They put a can of soda or something in their bag and we haven’t got anyone to monitor this. I guess the temptation is there when they have to help themselves and this is something we have to address.”

She added that the whole point of the HAB was to make money for the BHB and they simply could not afford to employ a security guard.

As for the shortage of volunteer staff, Mrs. Wright said: “We do have a shortage and this is a big problem for us.

“We have wonderful dedicated volunteers who have worked there for years and we’re grateful for them and quite frankly they have kept it going.”

She added that the situation was relieved during the summer when teenagers work in the café as candy stripers but pointed out that the volunteer shortage wasn’t restricted to the HAB, that with so many charities in Bermuda, everyone is feeling the pinch.

“Over the last few years we have lost some, but we’ve also gained some,” she admitted.

“You have to remember that we are a service organisation and our volunteers make an invaluable contribution to patient care by volunteering their time.”

Mrs. Wright is appealing to anyone with some free time to volunteer to contact the HAB offices on 236-2488.

Café plagued by staff shortages and petty theft