Map shows huge chunk of General Hospital to be sold

Controversial sale of land for housing expected to raise £22m CONTROVERSIAL SALE EXPECTED TO RAISE £22M

HEALTH bosses have identified which parts of the Leicester General Hospital will be sold off as part of Leicester’s Hospitals’ multi-million pound revamp plans.

Roughly two-thirds of the site will be put on the market as development land.

Leicester’s Hospitals has to sell the plots, which will be marketed in two phases, in order to secure the £367 million it needs from NHS England to fund its ambitious transformation plans.

It is part of the overall plan which will see the General downgraded and Leicester Royal Infirmary and Glenfield Hospital acting as acute hospitals.

All of Hospital Close – where residents including health workers and hospital staff recently received eviction notices – is included in the phase one plot.

One of those affected, George Kolankanny, a health worker who lives on Hospital Close – which makes up the majority of the phase one sale – was due to move out of his flat on May 31.

Because of delays with his new property, health bosses have let him stay on until his new home is ready to move in to.

He said: “We knew that the land would be sold off eventually but I think this proves that we were lied to when they said we should move out because the properties were unsafe.

“The homes were the same when I moved in 10 years ago, the windows and doors are the same and they never worried about them before they said we would be evicted.

“It’s upsetting that there are people still living here and this is happening.”

The second phase, which is almost double the size of the first plot, includes the majority of the current hospital building.

Selling the land is a deal-breaker when it comes to Leicester’s Hospitals’ bid for £367 million investment from NHS England to transform local health services.

As recommended in the Naylor Review, the trust has to identify land not needed for healthcare services.

A spokesman said: “In our plan we have to show that land that we no longer need for healthcare facilities should be sold off to generate money to reinvest in healthcare.

“We have to identify land that isn’t being used so it can be considered for housing. The funding rules are very clear and this is a national target that every NHS trust has to comply with, even if they don’t want funding.”

Selling the two plots is expected to generate in the region of £22 million. The trust couldn’t confirm when the land will go up for sale.

The remaining buildings on the site will house a primary care hub including an imaging centre for patients requiring X-rays, MRI scans and other scheduled tests.

The Leicester Diabetes Centre of Excellence and a stroke rehabilitation unit will also be situated on site.

A midwife-led birthing centre is being considered but St Mary’s Birthing Centre in Melton is earmarked for closure and plans also exist for a dedicated maternity hospital on the Leicester Royal Infirmary campus.

That facility, which will also house gynaecology and fertility services, has a price tag of £88 million.

Local health campaigners are unhappy with what they say is a lack of consultation over the plans and the reduction in acute beds.

Patient Panel member Kathy Reynolds said: “We have been told that, although these proposals are for long-term service change, they entail no additional beds when compared to beds available in May 2018, despite a growing population in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

“We have been pointing out for some time that local NHS leaders are failing to provide a convincing account that the number of beds – which are already inadequate in number with today’s population – can possibly be adequate for the future.

“We are concerned to see that long before any evidence has been released to support the move from a three-site acute service to a twosite service, we see plans for land sale.

“The pre-consultation business case must be released to allow informed engagement. Local NHS leaders have effectively started marketing their plans to ensure a positive consultation outcome.”