£15m relocation of children’s heart centre completes

The £15m relocation of the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre from Glenfield Hospital to its new city centre home at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) has now completed.

Property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard has worked with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust to co-locate children’s Congenital heart services in the region within a state-of-the-art setting.

The children’s congenital heart service department was previously centred at Glenfield Hospital but has been moved to be part of the larger Leicester Children’s Hospital within Leicester Royal Infirmary.

The move is part of the enabling works for the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust plan to transform healthcare in Leicester after winning £450m from the government to build a maternity and children’s hospital.

The relocation has taken place over three phases of construction, with the first and largest element being a new-build extension to the Kensington Building to house the cardiac outpatient’s department, new cardiac theatre and new hybrid catheter lab.

Joshua Sandbach, project manager at Pick Everard, said: “We’re really proud to have facilitated such an important project, ensuring a high-spec central treatment centre for congenital heart services. Working within the client’s team has been a real key to the successful delivery of this project due to the pressures and unpredictability brought on by the pandemic and Brexit.

“There have, of course, been a number of challenging points, but we have now created a truly considerate facility that meets the users’ needs and exceeds their expectations.”

The second phase of work included a new cardiac ward situated on the first floor of the existing Kensington Building.

The final phase of work saw the installation of the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to fifth floor of the Kensington Building.

Nigel Bond, deputy director of estates and facilities at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “The relocation of EMCHC to the LRI secures this fantastic service for the people of Leicester and the East Midlands area. It also represents the first phase of what will become a standalone Children’s Hospital on the site. The people of Leicester fought a hard campaign to retain the service in this region, they can be proud of what has been achieved.

“Having Josh from Pick Everard embedded in our delivery team has been a delight and a significant contribution to the quality of the outcome. He has worked tirelessly with the clinical team, my staff and the contractors to ensure we got the building this service needs and deserves.”