Allowing Keywest to find you the Leicester property of your dreams is likely to be a good move for both your mind and your body.

Exciting plans for Leicester Royal Infirmary mean that standards of care are likely to rise and the patient experience will be better than before.

This week, Leicester’s Hospitals’ chairman Karamjit Singh spoke optimistically of a future that will include the £43.3 million development of the infirmary’s A&E department, along with the much-anticipated multi-storey car park. He said that these plans would help drive up care standards and improve the patient experience.

Mr Singh admitted that there had been issues concerning the contract with private company Interserve in relation to the provision of Leicestershire NHS’s maintenance, domestic, and catering services, but said he was confident any problems will be resolved. He said that the financial and legal issues were ‘sensitive’ but the board of directors had a clear direction to move in.

Mr Singh highlighted that the NHS currently employs one in a hundred people in Leicestershire, Rutland and Leicester and is a major part of the community. He said there was now a clear plan for the next five years and a clear focus on the future, which includes the provision of high-quality and safe services through the best use of resources.

Speaking to mark his first year as chairman, Mr Singh said that he was ‘impressed’ with ‘the deep commitment’ of frontline staff who are keen to serve patients well, something that is vital given that Leicester’s three hospitals accommodate around 200,000 in-patient stays and another 800,000 outpatient appointments each year.

He said that there was a large amount of work going on in the background to improve patient services further, including improving waiting times. He would like to tell people more about the work of the trust and is inviting residents to attend the annual meeting of the trust at The Big Shed at Freeman’s Common at 6.30pm on September 17.

Meanwhile, hospital bosses say that the A&E project is on track after work started in the spring to tear down old buildings on the site.

The two-phase project to create a new emergency floor is set to see the opening of new children’s and adults’ A&E departments in around December 2016, followed by a dedicated ‘frailty unit’ to accommodate elderly patients.

The new multi-storey car park is aimed at remedying a previous shortage of patient and staff parking at the infirmary. This part of the project should be completed this year, providing over 400 additional parking spaces.
The major project technical director for Leicester’s Hospitals, Richard Kinnersley, said that as the demolition work reaches its end, work will now be imminent to create the new building.

The demolition work has included the removal of St Luke’s Chapel, a Victorian place of worship previously used by staff and patients. This has been replaced by three prayer rooms and a temporary chapel, although a new permanent facility will also be built.

Image by Victuallers under CC BY-SA 3.0 Licence.