Children's heart operations could be moved in a bid to protect the long-term future of the surgical unit.
NHS England, which is reviewing provision nationwide, is expected to insist all children's services are on one site if hospital trusts want to carry on as a surgical centre for youngsters born with heart problems.
At the moment, children's heart surgery is at Glenfield Hospital while all other paediatric services, including the neo-natal unit, are at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
There has been concern among medics at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust that unless all the services are brought together, Leicester could miss out on heart surgery centre status in the future.
In a message to staff and campaigners yesterday, John Adler, chief executive of the trust, said there would be "an urgent assessment", including of the time and costs of moving children's heart facilities.
He said: "This would have the added benefit of resolving our split-site children's service, which we all agree is less than ideal."
Directors have also given the go-ahead for talks with Birmingham Children's Hospital to make sure the Leicester trust can meet a requirement – still in draft form – that each centre has four surgeons, all performing 125 operations a year.
Mr Adler said: "The trust board was clearly of the view that we should aim to meet the emerging standards.
"This was felt to be the best way of securing the future of children's heart services in Leicester and also, potentially, to derive the significant benefits for our children's services as a whole."
Adam Tansey, from Burbage, whose son Albert was born with half a heart, was on the panel which helped to draw up the standards.
He said: "This review recognises the need for the best national service.
"Naturally there is concern that the ethos changes if you move the service but we are constantly dealing with changes in our lives and everyone at Glenfield has shown their ability to move with the times."
The Leicestershire charity Heart Link cautiously welcomed a possible move.
Spokesman Richard French said: "Obviously, we would like the service to remain in Leicester, ideally at Glenfield, but if it has to transfer to the infirmary then so be it.
"Our priority is the children and parents who have to use the service. If it is relocated then all facilities and provisions we have supplied via our fund-raising over 33 years will be replicated on a new site."
Eric Charlesworth, chairman of the Leicester Mercury Patients' Panel, said: "I am delighted at these next steps.
"Now is the opportunity to begin to remove any issues that might hinder the continuation of this world-leading service."
Zuffar Haq, also a member of the Leicester Mercury Patients' Panel, said he would prefer a new children's hospital at Glenfield.
He said: "The move to the infirmary looks like a short-term fix."
Last year, a review, Safe and Sustainable, recommended cutting the number of children's heart surgery centres nationally from 11 to seven.
It was subsequently suspended after a High Court ruling that it was flawed.
However, Glenfield Hospital was one of the centres earmarked for closure.
