Building Better Hospitals for the future: University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Public consultation about proposed £450 million improvements to transform acute and maternity services at Leicester’s hospitals.
The opportunity to have your say.
Have your say on proposed changes to Leicester’s Hospitals
We want to spend £450 million to improve acute hospital and maternity services in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Acute care includes patients receiving treatment for severe injury or illness, urgent medical conditions, or during recovery from surgery.
We want to see improved patient care, better patient outcomes, and staff all working in the best place to make this happen. Most of all we want to deliver hospital healthcare that is fit for the future.
This is your chance to find out more about what is being proposed and have your say. This will help the local NHS to understand what the changes would mean for you and help us to make a final decision.
You can read the full consultation document and find a lot more information about what is proposed and why at www.betterhospitalsleicester.nhs.uk.Versions of the consultation documents can be available in other languages and formats, including in easy read format, large print and video. These versions can also be accessed on our website.
Building better hospitals
This public consultation is about the services delivered at the three main hospitals in Leicester, run by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust – also sometimes known as UHL. These three hospitals are:
- Leicester Royal Infirmary
- Glenfield Hospital
- Leicester General Hospital
The consultation is also about services delivered at the midwifery-led unit at St Mary’s Hospital, Melton Mowbray. This is a dedicated unit for women with a low risk pregnancy and is run by midwives. There are no doctors on site.
We believe our proposals will make our hospitals better able to deliver the modern healthcare services that patients deserve, and fit for future generations.
Why do we need to make changes?
There are many reasons why we need to change how our hospitals provide services. These include:
- Our population is generally living longer and people’s health and care needs are changing. The demand for healthcare services is going up.
- We need to better join up health and social care services so that they make sense for patients and are less confusing.
- We want to improve the quality of care provided to patients.
- Leicester’s hospitals believe there will be a need for 139 more acute hospital beds by 2023-24.
- Our existing staff are spread too thinly across services at the three hospitals, meaning there are times when some services cannot be staffed as needed.
- We have some tired, old buildings that need a lot of maintaining because of their age. These are very costly and inefficient to run.
- We need to spend NHS money in the most efficient way. The way our hospitals are currently set up does not support this.
What changes could we expect to see?
We are proposing to change acute and maternity services by moving all acute care to the Leicester Royal Infirmary (in the city centre) and to Glenfield Hospital (on the outskirts of Leicester on Groby Road). The £450 million investment proposal includes:
- The first dedicated single-site children’s hospital in the East Midlands based in Kensington Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary.
- A new maternity hospital at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
- Two ‘super’ intensive care units with 100 beds in total, almost double the current number.
- A major planned care treatment centre at Glenfield Hospital.
- Modernised wards, operating theatres and imaging facilities.
- Additional car parking.
We propose to keep some non-acute services on the site of Leicester General Hospital, in Evington (three miles east of Leicester city centre on Gwendolen Road). The services that we propose to have at Leicester General include:
- A diabetes centre of excellence.
- Imaging facilities including scans and x-rays to help diagnose patients’ conditions.
- Stroke recovery services with inpatient beds (in the Evington Centre).
- Potential development of a primary care urgent treatment centre, observation facilities, community outpatient facilities for a range of mental and physical conditions and additional primary care services.
The midwifery-led unit in Melton Mowbray may be relocated to Leicester General Hospital as it is underused, with less than three births per week, despite efforts to promote it. This is an option which will be informed by the views of the public during this consultation.
What are some of the key changes at each hospital?
The proposed changes to services would mean new services created, new buildings built and existing buildings refurbished.
The Leicester Royal Infirmary would still be the primary site for emergency care. There would be significant investment in a new maternity hospital with a midwifery-led unit and a newly established Children’s Hospital.
One of two ‘super intensive care units’ are planned for the Leicester Royal Infirmary. These will double our current intensive care capacity from 50 to 100 beds, in which specially trained staff monitor and treat patients with life threatening conditions.
The other ‘super intensive care unit’ would be located at Glenfield Hospital.
Under our proposals Glenfield Hospital would expand by almost one-third – as services move over from Leicester General Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary.
A state-of-the-art treatment centre and, purpose built wards and theatres would provide a one-stop-shop for patients to receive care and treatment. New car parks will be built to cope with the increased traffic.
Overall there will be another 139 acute beds by 2023-24. This would be an increase of 7% on the current total of 2,033 beds.
These changes would enable us to separate emergency and planned care (care which is arranged in advance), helping to prevent treatment being delayed or cancelled when emergency services are busy. More than half a million planned appointments a year will move away from the city centre site, creating room for a new maternity hospital and improve and enhance services at a newly established Children’s Hospital.
Leicester General Hospital would no longer be an acute hospital caring for the sickest patients. Instead it would become a smaller centre that focuses on community health with some inpatient beds.
The community health campus at Leicester General would serve people living in the east side of the city and county. It would include facilities such as the diabetes centre of excellence, a dedicated imaging hub to help GPs diagnose patients’ conditions quicker and a stroke recovery service with beds.
Dependent on the outcome of public consultation, it would also be the location for a midwifery-led unit within the existing Coleman Centre (relocating this service from St Mary’s in Melton Mowbray, where the service is underused).
Community maternity services would be maintained in Melton Mowbray.
We also want to explore the development on this site of a primary care urgent treatment centre, observation facilities, community outpatient facilities for a range of mental and physical conditions and additional primary care services.
The consultation will also consider greater use of hydrotherapy pools in the community, replacing use of the hydrotherapy pool at Leicester General Hospital.
Let us know what you think
This consultation will run from 28 September to 21 December 2020. We want to know what you think about our proposals for reconfiguring acute and maternity services. You can:
- Find out much more about the consultation, what is proposed and why on our website at www.betterhospitalsleicester.nhs.uk. The website will also have details of consultation events and meetings. You can complete a questionnaire on the website.
- To request a copy of the questionnaire for you to fill in at home or to arrange to complete the questionnaire with a member of staff, telephone us on 0116 295 0750 or email beinvolved@LeicesterCityCCG.nhs.uk.
- Email us your views at beinvolved@LeicesterCityCCG.nhs.uk
To keep up to date with news of the consultation, follow us on social media:
- Facebook: @NHSLeicester
- Twitter: @NHSLeicester #BetterHospitalsLeicester
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