Emergency services in Leicester see major investment

Some £2.4m is to be spent improving emergency services at Leicester Royal Infirmary after urgent measures were agreed on to improve facilities.

A total of £1.5m will be spent on refurbishment to expand space in the department.

More than £900,000 will go towards recruiting new medical staff.

Patients numbers have risen over the last decade by about a third to more than 160,000, making it one of the busiest A&E units in the UK.

Plans also include diverting some patients to the GP-led urgent care facility on the LRI site.

Helen Mather of University Hospitals of Leicester said: "The key to us is getting the patient to the right service at the right time, first time - and that is sometimes hospital, but not always hospital."