£450m Transformation Of Leicester’s Hospitals Approved

Health bosses have approved a £450m revamp of Leicester’s hospitals.

All urgent care will move to the Royal Infirmary and Glenfield sites with new maternity and children’s hospitals at the LRI.

Leicester General Hospital will be downgraded, with some of the site sold to help pay for the overall scheme.

The masterplan has however proved controversial, with campaigners battling plans to cease acute care on the General Hospital site and the closure of a birthing centre in Melton as part of the changes.

The largest element of the scheme will be a new £170m treatment centre, with wards and theatres, built at the Glenfield Hospital which will serve all out patients who currently use the General and the LRI.

NHS bosses say the move will see the biggest investment into the city’s health system since the 1970s.

Andrew Furlong, Medical Director at Leicester’s hospitals, said: “Today’s decision is a huge and welcome step forward on the journey to this once in a generation investment in local healthcare.

“I have lived and worked here for over 20 years and I’ve seen first-hand just how much we need to make changes to our hospitals. We have amazing staff, achieving amazing things, but in many cases in buildings and facilities that all too often let us down and with all the pressure that comes from staff and services being spread too thinly across three sites.

“These plans will change that, enabling us to offer significantly improved care and outcomes for our patients and helping us to better manage many of the challenges we face now and in the future.”

How the new children’s hospital will look