Demolition work has begun at Leicester Royal Infirmary in preparation for a new £43.3 million Emergency Department.
The investment to create a purpose built Emergency Floor is the first part of a major investment in a five-year £320 million strategic plan.
The current Emergency Department at the Leicester Royal Infirmary was last updated 10 years ago, and was designed to care for 100,000 patients. The department now sees around 600 patients a day, around 180,000 each year, they expect this figure to increase.
Today guests who have been involved in the project were invited to see new artwork and a 3D computer-generated tour of the new Emergency Floor, as well as being able to watch the demolition begin.
Chief executive for Leicester’s Hospitals, John Adler, said: “We are incredibly excited to have got this far and would like to thank everyone who has been involved in designing and supporting this process. This much needed development will be the UK’s first frailty friendly emergency department, especially designed to meet the rising demands of an ageing population and will improve the experience, not only for the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, but also for our hard working staff.”
“The new department has been designed with a much better flow for our patients, brining services that the emergency team need closer together which will reduce waiting times and improve patient experience.”
“The design includes bigger cubicles for patients and more room for ambulances, along with an integrated mental health department and a brand new Children’s ED. It will also be completely paper-free, providing a fully electronic service, saving space and speeding up our processes.”
“Demolition will be completed in early August and phase one of the building work will then begin in earnest. We will open our new Emergency Department to its first patients in summer 2017.”
A new multi-storey car park at the Royal Infirmary with over 400 extra car parking spaces is also being built as part of the five year plan. The vascular services will be moved to the Glenfield Hospital alongside the cardiovascular service.
