Plans for new outpatient centre at Leicester General Hospital

The centre would have 20 patient rooms, five procedure rooms and a staff training room

Plans have been lodged for a new outpatient centre at a hospital in Leicester.

The proposed building at Leicester General Hospital could see about 17,500 patients each year.

Among the procedures expected to take place in the unit are colonoscopies, bowel cancer screenings and "advanced therapeutic procedures".

The proposal is part of a wider plan to overhaul the set-up of the city's three hospitals.

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), which oversees the running of the city's hospitals, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it plans to transform the city's hospitals and the services offered will reduce waiting lists through more effective pathways and increased care capacity.

The new endoscopy unit would sit alongside the recently completed East Midlands Planned Care unit which contains an operating theatre.

There are already buildings and portacabins on the planning site.

UHL is seeking permission to demolish the buildings and relocate some of the cabins.

A drawing of what the proposed centre could look like

Plans suggest there would be 20 patient rooms, five procedure rooms and one staff training room in the new one-storey building, if it is approved by Leicester City Council's planning department.

There would also be staff areas, office space, a reception and a discharge lounge. Two of the procedure rooms and four of the patient rooms would start as empty "shells" and then have medical equipment and furniture added at a later date due to "limited funds".

The main entrance for patients would be through the Brandon Unit, with a second entrance via the car park.

UHL also plans to bring the Brandon Unit back into use as phase two of the East Midlands Planned Care centre, creating more beds and allowing more patients to be seen there.