Hospital units to be named in memory of late Leicester City owner
22 October 2019, 13:16
Two intensive care units at Leicester Children's Hospital will be named in honour of Leicester City Football Club's philanthropic late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
The decision to name the units after Khun Vichai was taken by the Leicester Hospitals Charity to recognise the £2 million donation he made to the organisation.
Today's announcement comes six days before the anniversary of the helicopter crash that left him and four others dead as the aircraft left the football club's King Power Stadium.
Both the Children's Intensive Care Unit and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Leicester Royal Infirmary will be named The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Children’s Intensive Care Unit.
We are pleased to announce that both intensive care units at our Childrens’ Hospital are to be named after Leicester City’s late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The naming decision has been taken by our charity in recognition of the £2m donation he made to the project.💙 pic.twitter.com/g1NW9xW3Iw
— Leicester's Hospitals (@Leic_hospital) October 22, 2019
The new units will be part of an ambitious plan to create the East Midlands' first dedicated children's hospital where all services will be under one roof.
Vichai's son Apichet said it was "a very proud moment for the Srivaddhanaprabha family.
"My father always supported Leicester's communities because he believed in giving back to the people that have given so much to us," he said.
"His donations to Leicester's Hospitals were about supporting the future generations of those communities and making sure there would always be help available to families that needed it most.
"Our family, Leicester City Football Club and the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation intend to honour my father's legacy by continuing to support those communities in the same spirit."
Dawn Potter, who works at the hospital, added: "It's a great privilege really, that his name is going to be on the new intensive care unit.
"He's been a great inspiration to not just the intensive care unit, but Leicester Hospitals."
Leicester Hospitals charity director Lisa Davies said: "It is with the deepest admiration and respect for Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha that we announce we will be naming such an important area of our children’s services in his memory.
"In his life, Khun Vichai donated so much to improve children’s services at our hospitals and regularly extended special invitations to our young patients to attend Leicester his executive box at the King Power Stadium."
