Month: October 2025

Three brand-new electric buggies are now in service across Leicester’s Hospitals – all thanks to your generosity.

The new vehicles are based at Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital, and are providing an invaluable service for patients who need support navigating hospital grounds. Run by trained hospital volunteers, the buggy service helps hundreds of people every month get safely and comfortably from car parks or entrances to wards, clinics and departments. 

One recent passenger, Guy from Ashby de-la-Zouch, used the service during a recent visit to the Leicester General Hospital for a blood transfusion. 

“The hospital is very spread out, and I needed to get to the new East Midlands Planned Care Centre,” said Guy. “Without the buggy, I would have struggled to find my way. The volunteer drivers were incredibly helpful, and I’m so thankful this service exists.”

Designed with patient dignity, safety and comfort in mind, the new buggies are replacing older vehicles that had become increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain. The new models are more robust, more accessible, and built to meet the growing demand for patient transport across hospital sites. In 2022–2023 alone, the service supported over 4,500 passengers across more than 3,000 journeys -despite frequent breakdowns that left vehicles out of action for weeks at a time. Thanks to your support, patients can now rely on a dependable, welcoming service that eases stress and ensures they reach their appointments. 

“This service really makes a difference,” said Sue McLeod, Head of Patient Experience at Leicester’s Hospitals. “Patients can arrive safely and on time with carers able to travel with them. Thanks to the new buggies, our volunteers can now strive to offer that support every single day, without interruption.” Because of your kind gifts, patients like Guy can now travel through hospital grounds in comfort, safely and with dignity – supported by our dedicated team of volunteers.