Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, has welcomed an announcement that two new hospitals and a midwifery-led unit will be built in Leicester.
The Department for Health and Social Care confirmed it will deliver a new hospital at the Leicester Royal Infirmary for women's and ICU services, a midwifery-led unit at Leicester General Hospital and a new hospital at the Glenfield for elective inpatients, theatres, outpatients and day cases.
University Hospital Leicester’s share of the £20 billion New Hospital Programme is in addition to the £14.5 million Hinckley Community Diagnostic Centre which was approved at the end of last year. The testing unit will be built on the Mount Road Hinckley Hospital site and provide around 125,000 MRI and blood tests, CT scans and X-rays per year.
Plans recently announced by the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay, confirm the Leicester sites are progressing towards construction.
The Health Department have also confirmed they will support the hospital with the plans for a new multi-storey car park and a six-storey extension at LRI to re-provide an immunology lab, a pharmacy expansion and clinical genetics.
Dr Evans, the GP turned MP for Bosworth, said “Since being elected in 2019 I’ve been championing local healthcare and calling for additional services, so am delighted with the news that over three years of work has come together!
“Six months ago, we heard that a new £14.5 million Community Diagnostic Centre, to deliver tests, scans and checks right on our doorstep, had been approved and now we find out three hospitals in Leicester, the General, LRI and Glenfield, have been included in the £20 billion New Hospital Programme.
“I know cutting waiting lists and providing better local health services are some of our community’s top priorities, which is why this news – on top of the Hinckley testing unit – is so important.
“It’s testament to our NHS, local authorities and Government all coming together to deliver for our area. Now the money is secured it’s about delivery, rest assured all agencies will be working together to ensure there are spades in the ground as soon as possible. Watch this space!”
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust Chief Executive, Richard Mitchell, said “The announcement today of extra investment in the NHS New Hospitals Programme is great news for the people of Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and the wider East Midlands.
“This investment will help us deliver new facilities by 2030, including a women’s hospital and a dedicated children's hospital. We know that modern, digitally enabled services will support world-class health care, research and education. The investment will also mean we can attract and retain the best possible people.
“It builds on the £163m of investment already made in our hospitals over the last five years. This includes the new East Midlands Planned Care Centre (EMPCC) at the Leicester General, which opens next month and will treat 100,000 per year once fully operational.
“We are proud to work in Leicester, the largest and fastest growing city in the East Midlands and the first plural city in the UK, where there is no single ethnic majority. The people of Leicester deserve the best possible healthcare and today’s announcement will help us achieve this ambition.
“We will now work with colleagues from the NHS, Local Authority, Universities and beyond to finalise plans, complete the business cases and start the process of construction and commissioning.”
