A space, filled with colour and natural light this is our vision for a fantastic new home for Leeds Children’s Hospital.
From the ground up, the new Leeds Children’s Hospital will help to transform how our young patients receive their care – from introducing the latest cutting-edge technologies to creating family-friendly surroundings.
The new building will allow for 100% single rooms which will drive improvements in patient dignity and privacy, reduce anxiety and length of stay as well as enhance recovery. It will also create better opportunities for more family-centred care for babies, children and young people.
We will also be increasing capacity for day case procedures through the provision of an additional six beds and by separating surgical and medical day cases. This will mean there will be improved patient pathways as well as a reduction in overnight stays and better use of in-patient beds.
For the first time, we will also be creating a centralised maternity unit with adjacent neonatal services providing better care for mothers and their babies as well as a more flexible service. Having these services in one building will remove the need for cross-city transfers between our Leeds General Infirmary site and St James’s University Hospital.
The design
We listened to what children and young people had to say about a new Leeds Children’s Hospital and they told us how important it is to have plenty of outdoor space and areas to play.
This feedback has been a key part of our new hospital design, many elements of which have long-term patients in mind, helping us to understand that for some of these children, the hospital will become home for extended periods of time.
There will be plenty of daylight to the single occupancy ensuite rooms, with impressive views over Leeds. Young patients will benefit from garden terraces where they will enjoy space to play and have access to plenty of fresh air.
Inside the new Leeds Children’s Hospital, an urban forecourt will lead to each hospital department along short ‘streets’ so there isn’t far to travel. The departments will be built in sculptural towers shaped like two boomerangs back-to-back, creating a convenient entrance that takes children and their families up to one of six different levels.