'Healthcare heroes' get bus naming honour

Busses have been named after Leicester Hospital staff Dr Sanjiv Nichani and Professor Sally Singh

A fleet of hospital hopper buses have been named after local "healthcare heroes" in honour of their outstanding contributions to patient care.

The electric Hopper shuttle buses connect Glenfield Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospital seven days a week.

Four distinctive green vehicles will now bear the names of a quartet who have been influential in local healthcare.

One of the honourees, Dr Sanjiv Nichani, said it was "surreal" to see the bus named after him.

The four names, voted on by the public, were revealed at a ceremony at Glenfield Hospital on Wednesday.

Dr Nichani spearheaded the creation of Leicester Children's Hospital and founded Healing Little Hearts Global Foundation, one of the biggest children's heart charities in the world.

"It's surreal," he said. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined something like this would have happened.

"I'm delighted, thrilled, honoured to have an electric bus driving through the city where I live, where I love living in and working in with my name on."

The four-bus hospital hopper fleet was made electric in 2022

A bus has also been named after Professor Sally Singh, the current head of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation at the hospital.

Professor Tony Gershlick, consultant cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital from 1989, has also been honoured.

He was involved in practice-changing research, running major national and international trials that have changed the way patients are treated before his death in 2020.

The name of Frances Deacon, who was born in Kibworth Beauchamp in 1837, has also been put on one of the fleet.

She was the first woman to pass tough qualifying tests to become a pharmacist.

The Hospital Hopper buses were made electric in 2022, replacing a fleet of diesel vehicles.

Jon Melbourne, chief operating officer at Leicester's Hospitals, said: “Our sustainable fleet of Hospital Hopper buses serve the local community every day.

"Naming them after people who have achieved so much, with legacies felt not just here but around the world is a fitting tribute to their dedication and trailblazing spirit.”

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