LGI

[Leeds No.1]

Leeds' already strong healthcare sector is to have a further boost with improvements at the LGI, adding to the new Oncology wing at St. James' that will create the largest Oncology unit in Europe.

Breast cancer service boost
£1.6m hi-tech unit for city
by Geoff Fox
BREAST cancer sufferers in Leeds are to benefit from a £1.6m state-of-the-art unit at Leeds General Infirmary.
The city's breast surgery and radiology departments, which are currently spread across three hospital sites, are to be centralised at LGI.
It means women can be cared for by a wider range of medical staff, while receiving treatment in a modern, comfortable environment.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust's director of planning Sylvia Craven said: "Bringing breast services together at the LGI has long been in our sights as part of the wider acute services reconfiguration.
"Moving both inpatient and outpatient services to one site will replace the isolated and outdated treatment areas that currently exist on both sides of the city.
"It will create a dedicated outpatient department with all the latest digital radiology equipment as well as a brand new inpatient ward, which will offer the women of Leeds a modern, dignified setting for their care.
"The move will bring specialist medical and nursing teams under the same roof for the first time, ensuring patients have access to the full breadth of expertise."
The new unit will be based on C Floor of Brotherton wing and will centralise medical, nursing and support staff and will bring together both inpatient and outpatient services for the first time.
According to Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust the new inpatient service would benefit by merging two existing half wards of breast surgery to a dedicated breast ward in the Clarendon wing close to the new plastic surgery facility.
That, in turn, is expected to improve the efficiency of a service which is currently only supported by three consultants across the city.
The scheme will see a number of improvements to an area which has not had significant investment since the 1950s.
The £1.6m will be spent on the building work together with new radiology equipment.
Work will start in the next few weeks, and barring any building complications, the unit should be open by the end of the year.
News of the centralised unit has been welcomed by charity Breast Cancer Care.
Maria Leadbeater, breast cancer nurse specialist for the organisation's North and Midlands office said: "Breast Cancer Care welcomes any initiative that would enable all patients easier access to the best possible care in their local area. Streamlined care, within a dedicated unit, will make treatment and care easier for patients and staff alike."
geoff.fox@ypn.co.uk
06 May 2006

[Rob]

That's interesting news, I had heard rumours that the LGI was to be run down with more services moved to St James, although there has been a lot of new investment in buildings at the LGI so I couldn't see it going completely. Central Leeds needs it's own hospital so this is good news, and it will of course improve that particular service. £1.6m doesn't sound much though, I wonder if they have got that figure correct.

[Leeds No.1]

I thought all the same things you just said. But with the investment at LGI and St. James' it will really boost the NHS in Leeds which already is quite good comparitavely. £1.6 does sound a bit low- maybe its part of a phase? I don't know =/ Have to wait and see! Its all part of the excitement lol.

[Rob]

Mind you, it's not all good news for the Leeds Hospital Trust, as with many others in the country, they are in a financial crisis and quite a few jobs could be at risk. I hope the mangers and government manage to sort the mess out and get the funding right in the near future.

[aviator]

Originally Posted by Rob

That's interesting news, I had heard rumours that the LGI was to be run down with more services moved to St James, although there has been a lot of new investment in buildings at the LGI so I couldn't see it going completely....

Now that it seems as though LGI is to close almost completely, does anybody have ideas about what to do with the site? It's an interesting mixture of listed buildings and forgettable dross but it's in an even more interesting position, sandwiched as it is between the universities and the civic centre.

[LeedsLad]

Originally Posted by Rob

That's interesting news, I had heard rumours that the LGI was to be run down with more services moved to St James.

I seem to remember something about this...

Originally Posted by aviator

Now that it seems as though LGI is to close almost completely.

Why is it so certain now?

[Leeds No.1]

I heard that too. But LGI is good; I say keep it, improve whats there but don't expand it. Keep development to St. James'

[aviator]

Originally Posted by LeedsLad

I seem to remember something about this...

Why is it so certain now?

With the NHS, nothing is certain until it's up and running, and even then.....

However, there have been discussions for more than a year now around the consolidation of the main services on one site, namely St James Hospital. This has been on the agenda of the Leeds Initiative Board - if you can bear to trawl through the minutes, you'll see the gist of the discussions. As I understand it, there may be a small community health resource maintained on the LGI site but almost everything else is to be moved. Just wonder what the massive A & E department will be used for!

[Val Verde]

Wouldn't it be a good idea however if Leeds retained two major hospitals as large as St James's is surely it would be a good idea to retain the LGI perhaps relocating it to the Kirkstall Road area near the old Arla Foods factory as having a single hospital would be risky if for some emergency reason that singular hospital had to close for some reason (eg: if there is a fire). Surely having two hospitals would prevent such potential chaos if such an eventuality were to happen?

[di Livio]

Originally Posted by aviator

Now that it seems as though LGI is to close almost completely, does anybody have ideas about what to do with the site? It's an interesting mixture of listed buildings and forgettable dross but it's in an even more interesting position, sandwiched as it is between the universities and the civic centre.

Like many trophy buildings in Leeds, it's looking a bit worse for wear and not achieiving its full potential. Obviously, I'd like to see it converted into a Tate Leeds or the latest outpost of the Guggenheim empire, but failing that, it would make a great central campus for Leeds Metropolitan University, which would bring some youthful exuberance to Great George Street. It's almost a prototype for Gilbert Scott's St. Pancras station so, with the right landscaping and a sensitive conversion, it could scrub up nicely.


And while I'm on the subject of fantastical schemes, the conversion of St. Paul's House into an Atkinson Grimshaw gallery, and the use of the Dark Arches as a venue for modern art and sculpture were recent ideas of mine which unfortunately had no appreciative audience. A concert hall on Whitehall riverside was another, but thanks to Linfoot, it's not going to happen.

[aviator]

Originally Posted by di Livio

.............It's almost a prototype for Gilbert Scott's St. Pancras station so, with the right landscaping and a sensitive conversion, it could scrub up nicely...........

The old part of LGI is, of course, also by Scott. Apparently, it was an early example of the principles of hospital design as set out by Florence Nightingale. I think the Civic Trust once suggested converting the Scott buildings into flats but it would also make a splendid hotel. I can imagine an outpost of Hotel du Vin going down very well with all the legal types in the area.

[jimbo]

have a look at the Civic Trust archive....

http://www.leedscivictrust.org.uk/

Go to the planning issues archive bit and there is a tiny render (which my laptop can't seem to save to post for imagestation) of a redeveloped Brotherton Wing.

would have included....

9 storey Trauma Unit, residential block, hotel, shopping, office and residential development to Calverley Street (including demolition of Brotherton Wing), multistorey car park to Clarendon Road.

Unsurprisingly the Civic Trust rejected it...

Objection to demolition of Brotherton and Edward VII Wings, proposed uses of Scott and Corson Buildings and design of new Trauma Centre

Would be a shame to loose the hospital, although I can't see that this would be allowed to happen to be fair.

[Pigpen]

There is an outline/sketchy 10 year plan to move services to St James, closing the LGI as we know it. However 10 years is a long time in the NHS, so don't write of the LGI just yet. At the moment some services are moving to the LGI to allow for the redevelopment of St James. However the kind of development required for such a move will take more than the proposed 10yrs, governments change, funding comes and goes... I'd say the LGI will see another 20 years easy!

[Leeds No.1]

Plans unveiled to sell off oldest parts of Leeds General Infirmary
Wednesday 14 March 2012 11:16



Plans to sell off the oldest parts of Leeds General Infirmary have been unveiled.

The proposals were revealed in a £155m five-year plan for major reorganisations at the city’s hospitals.

Selling some of the most outdated buildings at LGI and Seacroft Hospital – which include the LGI’s Brotherton Wing and the Grade I listed building on Great George Street – could raise £7.5m.

Services have already been moving out of ageing premises, some of which are not fit for modern healthcare.

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Now the sale of unused properties is underpinning the new blueprint, which includes plans to create the Leeds Children’s and Maternity Hospital and centralise other departments.

Sylvia Craven, head of planning and capital estates at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said in a report: “The trust has wanted and needed to be in this position for many years.”

With sites across the city, the Leeds trust has among the biggest estates in the health service and had a huge backlog of building works.

Only 40 per cent of the available space is used for patient care and plans are in place cut the estate by 25 per cent over the next 10 years.

Wards and theatres in the oldest parts of LGI have been vacated as care is moved to more modern facilities.

The five-year spending plan, which runs from April, involves moving services to bring them together at either LGI or St James’s Hospital.

Ms Craven says in a report: “The work on the capital programme is being underpinned by extensive rationalisation of the estate at Seacroft and especially at LGI which will eventually lead to the opportunity to sell part of the Seacroft site and the old main site LGI.”

The oldest part of Leeds General Infirmary is the Grade I listed building on Great George Street, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott – who designed St Pancras railway station in London – and opened in 1863.

The Brotherton Wing, which overlooks Millennium Square, opened in 1940.

Seacroft Hospital was originally opened in 1904 as a fever hospital but many parts of the sprawling site are now empty.

It is hoped the sales could raise a total of £7.5m between 2015 and 2017.

The rest of the £155m needed for the reorganisations would include £129m from reserves held by the hospital, a £24m loan, £5m from donations and £8m from savings. However the hospitals trust will also have to pay out £18m on repayments for another loan over five years.

Consultations will take place with the public on several of the changes and final decisions will be taken by hospital directors

[di Livio]

I wonder if Leeds Met would still take this on; they don't have the money though.

A hotel/apartment block it will have to be. Maybe the Bortherton Wing will now get the clean-up it deserves.

[Leeds No.1]

It's a massive building so could probably host a few uses.

Perhaps it could feed off Millennium Square somehow, assuming the space outside is remodelled. There's quite a lot of space when you consider the forecourts, car parking, pavements and Great George Street itself.

Would be a great place for a museum if one could be attracted. A move for the Thackary Medical Museum? I know it had been the long term goal (not sure if it still is) to make a transition to a main campus for Leeds Teaching Hospitals at St. James's. This could provide an opportunity, if of course this is still the case, to help progress that by opening up more room at Jimmy's with the move of the Thackary.

[Aaronj09]

It'd be great if the outside area was turned into an open paved area or maybe a grassy area

[bd250110]

There are currently huge swathes of the LGI which are unused, or poorly utilised, as the article says particularly the old site and Brotherton wing. Essentially only Clarendon Wing and Jubilee Wing are in day-to-day use. Most non Paediatric and Maternity / Gynaecology services are now exclusively at Jimmies and have been progressively moved over the past 5 years. The opening of Bexley wing at Jimmes has allowed much of this "reconfiguration" to happen.
Some outpatient day services such as Dermatology and Ortopaedics are now in Chapel Allerton.
As for Seacroft, other than the fertility unit, the huge, sprawling site is largely unused. I know it may seem a shame that these facilities lie "wasted", but old "nightingale" wards from the 1900s really are not fit for modern medical practice. LTHT is trying to remove as many of these wards from service as possible. The new hospital at Pinderfields and Bexley Wing are good examples of modern hospitals, a massive increase in the proportion of spacious side rooms and maximum 4 beds in a bay, with a large amount of circulating space, catering and admin facilities.

[this_city]

Originally Posted by di Livio

I wonder if Leeds Met would still take this on; they don't have the money though.

no chance. Leeds Met is trying to make better use of its estate which is why they've systematically gotten rid of the Brunswick Building and Old School Board

[Leeds No.1]

A lot of old hospital buildings, such as those at Seacroft, could surely make for good housing similar to the High Royds development in Guiseley/Menston.