Top doctor says construction work will be visible proof after decades of false starts
An artist’s impression of the new urgent care centre (Image: UHL)
A top doctor has described transformations of healthcare in Leicester as a complex “game of chess” as they prepare for their biggest change in a generation. Dr Ben Teasdale told LeicestershireLive the £39 million enabling works will involve “moving chess pieces” around hospital sites.
Dr Ben Teasdale, clinical lead for the new hospitals project at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), spoke exclusively to LeicestershireLive following the announcement yesterday (Tuesday, December 23) of more than £50 million in funding. The enabling works will pave the way for a new women’s hospital and a dedicated children’s hospital at the Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI).
Dr Teasdale, who is also Associate Medical Director and Chief Clinical Information Officer, said cranes will be on site within months as visible proof that the project is finally happening after 25 years of failed attempts.
Plans include a six-storey extension to the Windsor Building and refurbishment of space in the Victoria and Jarvis Buildings at Leicester Royal Infirmary(Image: UHL)
The funding includes £12.8 million for a new Urgent Treatment Centre at the LRI and £39 million for enabling works across three hospital sites. The enabling works will begin in early 2026 and finish in early 2028, paving the way for over £1 billion of main construction starting in 2032.
Dr Teasdale said the £39 million is the “first concrete money” after decades of planning. He said the enabling works would not cause any disruption to patient services as they involve relocating staff rather than clinical areas.
Dr Teasdale said: “We’ve been trying to build hospitals in Leicester for years and there is a degree of cynicism that we will ever get it. But this continues to reaffirm that actually this is going to happen for Leicester. When you arrive on site and see a crane, no one can deny that things are moving.”
The enabling works will see services relocated from the Victorian Knighton Street offices, which are single-glazed and “properly coming to the end of their life”, Dr Teasdale said. A six-storey extension to the Windsor Building will house modern training facilities, state-of-the-art laboratories for Immunology and Cytogenetics, and expanded pharmacy services, while space in the Victoria and Jarvis Buildings will be refurbished.
At Leicester General Hospital, the Hearing and Balance service will move to the East Midlands Planned Care Centre, while Occupational Health teams will relocate to Baldwin Lodge at Glenfield Hospital. Dr Teasdale said: “These are proper buildings, planned new buildings that will last 20, 30, 40, 50 years, delivering patient care or patient-related services.”
The doctor revealed the scale of the pressure on existing facilities. He said: “It’s very difficult to refurbish an operating theatre when every single one of them is flat out every single day.”
The new Urgent Treatment Centre will replace the current MIaMI (Minor Injuries and Minor Illnesses) service, with construction starting in the first quarter of 2026 ahead of a 2027 opening. Dr Teasdale said the purpose-built facility will provide “much better accommodation” with larger clinical rooms and appropriate facilities for both adults and children at the LRI, which has the busiest Emergency Department in the country, regularly seeing more than 900 patients per day.
The main construction phase in 2032 will deliver the new women’s hospital and dedicated children’s hospital at the LRI, as well as a treatment building at the Glenfield containing urology, colorectal surgery, wards, theatres and intensive care. Dr Teasdale said Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s timeline for the New Hospital Programme remains on track.
Dr Teasdale said the investment builds on £150 million already spent on new facilities in recent years, including the new emergency department and the East Midlands Planned Care Centre. He added: “It’s not about doing what we do now in those new buildings. It’s about how can we absolutely transform the way we deliver care? So it’s more efficient, better.
“Our own staff and the population of Leicester and Rutland quite rightly ask, is this ever going to happen? But since [the announcements], nothing has changed. This £39 million, what he said in the timeline, is 1766662571 happening. When it opens, it’s going to be absolutely amazing. We’re talking about a state-of-the-art, fully digital women’s and children’s hospital that will benefit the population of Leicester and Rutland for the next 40 years. It’s a really big deal.”
More information on timeframes and relocation of services will be made available in the New Year, with UHL also looking for more opportunities to access funding to improve other areas of its estate.