Press Release – Midland Metropolitan Hospital gets government green light

Press Release 

Midland Metropolitan Hospital gets government green light

Today, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust chairman, Richard Samuda has received the necessary permission to begin a tender process for the building of a new hospital in the region.  The Midlands Metropolitan Hospital (Midland Met) will substantially replace emergency services currently provided at both City and Sandwell Hospitals.

Mr Samuda said: “We are delighted to have received approval from the Secretary of State to proceed with the new hospital in Smethwick.  This reflects support for the business case from both the Department of Health and HM Treasury.  This is a decisive moment.  It is a huge vote of confidence in the Trust’s longstanding plan to transfer acute care onto a single site and to move care closer to home.  It’s also a very exciting decision for staff and local people as it signals another important initiative in the ongoing regeneration of Sandwell.”

The business case timetable requires the Trust to select a preferred construction partner by early autumn 2015, with building work commencing during spring 2016.  This timeframe would see The Midland Met open its doors to patients in 2018/19.  The business case has been accepted on the basis of the Government’s PF2 model, and includes a £100million contribution from taxpayers.

“This decision will not only transform hospital care, but also integrated care locally.  Our commitment, under the Right Care, Right Here partnership, is to develop more community-based services at our sites in Rowley Regis, at Leasowes and on Dudley Road, and to refurbish Sandwell Hospital to ensure high quality outpatient and intermediate care in West Bromwich.  We have just four years to deliver on that vision and we intend to make sure that we retain the trust of local people as we re-shape services around their needs” says Trust chief executive, Toby Lewis.

Dr Nick Harding, local GP and chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group, welcomed the announcement, saying “as a commissioning body we are delighted by the decisive clarity that this announcement brings.  As a local GP, I know that this is the right step for healthcare in this area.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. The Midland Metropolitan Hospital is a purpose built acute hospital for adults and children on a site owned by the Trust at Grove Lane in Smethwick.  The site was purchased in 2011 under a compulsory purchase order.  Demolition on the site is nearing completion.

2. The opening of the new hospital will see change on other sites owned by the Trust, including the closure of A&E departments at City and Sandwell Hospitals.  Formal consultation on those changes was concluded in 2007.

3.  The Trust has initiated the process of selecting a PF2 partner by issuing a procurement notice.  This partner will build the hospital and operate some estates services.  Patient care will continue to be provided exclusively by Trust staff.  Regeneration and local employment are important features of the procurement programme.

4.  The Right Care, Right Here partnership brings together local statutory and voluntary sector bodies, including NHS organisations, together with Birmingham City Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.  The partnership celebrates its tenth birthday in 2014.

5.  SWBH provides community and acute care to half a million local residents.  Its stated aim is to become renowned as the best integrated care organisation in the NHS.  The Midland Metropolitan Hospital is based on a further reduction in the scale of secondary care provided in the area, and an expansion of community and primary healthcare.

Issued by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust Communications Team, 0121 507 5303.