University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust was created in April 2000 with the merger of the Leicester General Hospital, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary.

At that time it was one of the six biggest NHS trusts in England with a budget of over £600 million per annum and 12,000 staff. It treats in excess of 1 million patients per annum, delivers 10,000 babies a year and provides the largest emergency service (admissions and ED attendances). It has one of the best records in the country for cardiac care and also specialises in kidney disease, cancer and vascular surgery. Its research programmes in cardio-vascular science, stroke medicine and diabetes are internationally renowned.

It was originally led by Philip Hammersley CBE (Chairman, 2000–06), Dr Peter Reading (Chief Executive, 2000–07) and Dr Allan Cole (Medical Director, 2000–10). In May 2008 new chief executive, Malcolm Lowe-Lauri, joined the trust from Kings College Hospital.

University Hospitals of Leicester achieved the highest possible ranking for service quality from the Healthcare Commission five years running - '3 Stars' in 2003/04 and 2004/05 followed by 'Excellent' from 2005/06 to 2007/08. This was the best five year record of any multi-specialty teaching trust in England, and followed a remarkable turnaround from zero stars in 2002/03 (associated with an administrative error relating to waiting lists for minor surgery), which the Leicester Mercury described as 'zeros to heroes'. In 2007/08, the Trust maintained its excellent rating for Quality of Service issued by the Healthcare Commission. In 2008/09 the rating slipped to 'Good'.

In October 2013 as a result of the Keogh Review the Trust was put into the highest risk category by the Care Quality Commission.

The Trust predicted a deficit of £39.8m in 2013-14, the largest of any in England.

The emergency department at Leicester Royal Infirmary is the busiest single unit in the country. It covers a population of 1.4 million. From 2014 to 2015 admissions rose by 12%. The trust has reduced its average length of stay by 7%, which has, in part, compensated for the increased admissions. Performance on the target of seeing 95% of people who attend accident and emergency departments within four hours has improved since January 2015. When it was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in November 2015 it was found to be chaotic and unsafe, with the nurse in charge of insufficient seniority.

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