Leicester’s Hospitals at 250

September 2021 marks 250 years since Leicester’s hospitals were established, when the Leicester Royal Infirmary opened its doors for the first time.

Starting with just 40 beds, two physicians, two surgeons and two nurses, University Hospitals Leicester (UHL) is now the largest employer in the county, with over 2,000 beds, 700 consultants and 4,200 nurses across three hospital sites - Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital.

I was commissioned by The Arts and Heritage Trust at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) in 2019 to make a series of images of the older part of Leicester General Hospital (LGH) as part of the celebrations of this important anniversary.

As a photographer I am drawn towards details and how they create for me, a sense of a place and how even the most apparently mundane aspects are important to my understanding and appreciation of that place.

In approaching this work I became aware of some beautiful aspects of this part of LGH, as well as an awareness of it as a place of work over generations.

My intention has been to reflect that beauty whilst at the same time identifying situations and details that suggest a daily working environment.

Hence, for example: coloured files glimpsed through lovely Arts and Crafts attained glass; a simple light switch surrounded by a bronze front plate with deep patina; marks on walls and amazing furniture.

This work will be exhibited at Leicester General Hospital and I will lead photography workshops with staff who will produce images of their own to be shown alongside the commissioned ones.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has delayed to completion of the commission and the physical exhibition of the work. The inclusion of this set of images here creates a publicly accessible online show alongside the actual exhibition.