Leicester Royal Infirmary

Leicester Royal Infirmary, together with the Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, are part of the East Midlands Children and Young Peoples Integrated Cancer Service.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Leicester Royal Infirmary
Infirmary Square
Leicester
LE1 5WW

Telephone: 0300 303 1573 (Switchboard) or 0116 258 6189 (Patient Information Centre)

Website: http://www.uhl-tr.nhs.uk top of page

In the main reception area of the Balmoral building, you will find a cashpoint, a shop/newsagent, café, florist, pharmacy, and post box. Payphones are located throughout the hospital.

There are various WRVS shops/cafes located around the hospital, where food and drinks may be purchased. There is a large canteen on Level 0 of the Balmoral building, which provides hot and cold meals, drinks and sandwiches. Next door to this is Costa Coffee, selling snacks and drinks. Opening times vary. There is also a 24-hour vending machine.

There is a strictly no smoking policy in all the buildings, grounds and car parks. There are wall-ashtrays provided outside the perimeter entrances.

Within a 10 minute walk from the hospital along Aylestone Road, you will find Freeman’s Park. Here there is a large Morrison’s supermarket, a cinema, several pubs, a bingo hall and a restaurant. There is a large car park, which is free of charge. Nelson Mandela Park, with children’s play area, is a two minute walk from the hospital.

Train: Leicester station is less than a mile away from the hospital.  Taxis are readily available (see below) or catch the Number 302 bus outside the station.  This runs every 30 mins.

Bus: The Hospital Shuttle Bus leaves from outside Leicester train station every 30 minutes from 7am -6.30pm Monday – Friday. Each journey costs £1. There are plenty of public buses leaving from the town centre: 25, 26, 38, 42, 43, 46, 47, 49, 84, 85. These leave from the Charles Street/Humberstone Gate area at various stops and run frequently. Please ask any driver to direct you.

Taxi: A taxi from the train station to the hospital will cost approximately £3 - £4.50. Taxis are always readily available.

Parking on site:  Please allow plenty of time for parking as queues for the car park can be long. The hospital would encourage anyone coming to the hospital to make alternative arrangements to travel or use an alternative car park. There is extremely limited street parking in Leicester.

The maximum daily charge for patients/carers is £5. Contact the Car Parking Office on 0116 258 5295 for details.  Oncology patients or their carers can get a letter from the ward which enables them to pay £10 per week for parking.  Ask a member of the ward staff or a CLIC Sargent care professional for details. 

Paediatric Oncology

General: Ward 27 – Paediatric Oncology.
 
Direct Tel:  0116 258 5959

No. of Beds: This is currently a 4 bed ward with 5 cubicles. There is also a day care room.

Age Range: Currently 0-18.

Additional Information:

• The ward is centred on a family environment and has a ‘cosy’ feel to it. A TV is available to each bed. Currently, at 18, patients are usually transferred to the Adult Oncology Team.
• Planning for 2012: There are plans in place for a Teenage Cancer Trust Unit to be built in 2012 to run along side Ward 27. It will be offered to teenagers and young people aged 13-24 years.

Young Adult Oncology Service

General: Haematology Oncology East & West

No. of Beds: Haematology - 22 Oncology East & West - 37 in total

Age Range: 18+

Paediatric Oncology

Play: The ward playroom caters for all ages and children can come and go as they please. Individual play is also an option if the child is too sick to move from bed or a cubicle. The aim is for at least one play session per day. The play specialists on the ward also look at the development of the child and engage in developmental play.

Learning: There is a hospital school that operates around normal school routine; however, this is flexible to incorporate the child’s condition at the time. The school will liaise with the child’s local school. If the child is in isolation, provisions can be made for work to be sent up to the cubicle.

Other Facilities: There is a ward operating theatre that carries out minor surgery on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All other surgery is carried out in the main theatre. 

Young Adult Oncology Service

Recreation: Although there is a Dayroom with a TV, it is available to all patients, not exclusively to teenagers and young adults.

Multimedia: Limited availability via Teenage and Young Adult Services,including a Teenage Cancer Trust Youth Support Coordinator who can access activities such as DVD’s, music, laptops, crafts etc whilst you are at the hospital, and will also arrange free Wi Fi at no cost to patients.

Patients can also have access to Complementary Therapies provided by volunteers

Paediatric Oncology

Meal Times: There are no set meal times on this ward as there is a dedicated chef in post who will cook a meal whenever a request is put in. You can order whatever you fancy and if possible, the chef will prepare this freshly for you. Chef is available from 10am to 7pm. If food is requested outside of these times, ward staff will make arrangements with the hospital canteen for a meal or snack to be delivered to the patient. There is a small kitchen on the ward where hot and cold drinks can be accessed free of charge.

Rounds: Two consultants generally carry out rounds in the morning.

Visiting: Open visiting is in place, although after 8pm it is restricted to parents. 

Young Adult Oncology

Meal Times: 8.30am breakfast; 12pm lunch; 5.30pm evening meal. Hot drinks are provided during the day. Between meals, snacks are available to patients either from the ward kitchen area or from the trolley that comes by frequently.

Rounds: Haematology - 3 medical staff each undertake 2 rounds per week.  Oncology East & West - 1 consultant round, doctors always available.

Visiting hours:Please speak to the staff on your ward.

On Paediatric Oncology there is a fold-away bed for one parent to spend the night next to the child.

There is a small room for parents’ to sit quietly or if you need a little private space for a short period. There is a kitchen, with fridge and free tea and coffee available. Parents also have the use of shower facilities. Please discuss this with the ward staff.

Overnight accommodation for parents is extremely limited and is not often available, especially at short notice. We are happy to help you with arrangements for bed and breakfast or a hotel, but any costs involved would need to be met by parents/family. Alternatively, contact Western Challenge on 0116 2588681, who rent out furnished hospital trust accommodation (depending on availability) to patients/visitors on a short-term basis at a cost of approximately £23.50 per night.

Children’s Social Work Team (includes the CLIC Sargent Team): Telephone:  0116 258 5182

Adult Social Work Team, LRI (generally for over 18’s): Telephone:  0116 258 5141

Macmillan Teenage and Young Person Clinical Nurse Specialist (Age Range 14-25 years): Telephone: 0116 258 6905

Outreach Support: Young People's Group (for 14-25 year olds) is held locally every month at 'Coping with Cancer'.  Details are available from the CLIC Sargent team or Macmillan staff.

There are many Cancer suppport services available outside the hospital - the CLIC Sargent team will be happy to assist you.