The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital has been granted the go ahead from the Trust board that will run it to open on 6 October this year.
Speaking following the historic meeting Trust Chairman Sir David Nicholson commented: “This is truly a key moment for our patients, people, and population as we know that this winter, we will be delivering emergency care in an environment which exceeds expectations and delivers benefits in wellbeing both for patients and our staff.
“Our board carefully considered extensive information about all aspects of the programme to deliver the new hospital safely. We are assured of the clinical safety, patient, and staff experience case for opening and transferring patients.
“These key milestones mark the final steps in our journey towards opening the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which is poised to become the centre of acute and emergency care at our Trust.”
Richard Beeken Trust Chief Executive added: “For many people this has been a long time coming so this is a significant milestone in our determination to continue to improve the life chances and health outcomes of our population.”
Lindsay McGibbon, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s Regional Buildings business said: “This is a momentous moment for everyone at Balfour Beatty and the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.
“Achieving this milestone was only made possible thanks to years of hard work and dedication from our people, who deserve a special mention for safely and successfully delivering this long-awaited, transformative hospital which will deliver significant benefits for the local community for years to come.”
Situated within a designated regeneration zone, the new hospital represents not just progress in healthcare but the opportunity to revitalise the region through increasing skills, employment, and wages, attracting new business and investment and encouraging new housing and infrastructure investment.
It will provide emergency, maternity, children’s, and adult acute inpatient services for a population of over half a million. Opening its doors in Smethwick, this facility will seamlessly bring together all acute and emergency care services currently situated across City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital.
From opening it will run an Urgent Treatment Centre (known as a UTC) on site alongside those currently at Sandwell Hospital and at Summerfield Primary Care Centre. UTCs provide medical help when it’s not a life-threatening emergency. For instance, they can provide diagnosis and treatment for ailments including sprains and strains, suspected broken bones and stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The site will also be home to a new £18million learning campus being largely funded from Towns Fund investment, set to open in 2025. This facility will be a game changer for our local population offering further and higher education courses as well as apprenticeship opportunities and employment within the new hospital. It demonstrates how our new hospital can become a catalyst for improving life chances in the community.
Matt Ellis, Business Unit Director at Equans UK & Ireland, said: “We are immensely proud to support Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust at the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. Our dedicated onsite team will deliver essential hard FM services and future project works, further strengthening our long-standing partnership with the Trust. The new hospital will introduce a transformative model of care that will enhance health outcomes for communities across Sandwell and West Birmingham.”
For more information about the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital and health campus, please go to https://www.swbh.nhs.uk/our-new-hospital/