IT’S A GO for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust patients, as the contract to build new hospital the Midland Met is finally signed.
Trust Chairman, Richard Samuda said: “Today we have signed the contract to build and deliver the Midland Met by October 2018 with ‘The Hospital Company’ – a Carillion Joint Venture.
“This is another landmark day for the people of Sandwell and West Birmingham, who now know for certain that their multi-million pound hospital will be built, and at a significantly lower cost than was originally planned. The OBC (outline business case) in 2014 anticipated an annual unitary payment of £27m, however we have closed the contract with an annual unitary payment of under £19.6m.
“We are also pleased to have signed the contract some four months earlier than we aimed for, and look forward to the Midland Met being handed over in July 2018 and opening in October 2018.”
The Midland Met Hospital will be delivered through a Public Private Partnership under a 30-year concession contract using the UK Government’s PF2 model.
The new hospital is only one of several major developments planned for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, with an expanded intermediate care centre on the City Hospital site and the Sandwell Treatment Centre on the current Sandwell General Hospital site. The Sandwell Treatment Centre will house a large urgent care centre.
With a proven link between ill health and socio-economic factors, the Midland Met will contribute to improving the health of the local communities through economic regeneration as well as direct healthcare delivery, contributing to improvements to the surrounding environment. The Trust has been working closely with partners on a range of initiatives to provide opportunities for local businesses to benefit from the development of the Midland Met, for example by providing employment for local people, including local apprentices to work on the development, and encouraging investment to build new homes in the area.
Dr Nick Harding, Chair of NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group said: “This is fantastic news for local people in Sandwell and West Birmingham. For over 10 years health and social care partners have been working towards the Midland Met Hospital, which will provide the state of the art treatment that local people deserve and need.
“The new hospital is an essential part of our wider Right Care Right Here plans to create a sustainable health and social care system, which also involves bringing more services into the community, improving access to primary care and much more. Today’s announcement brings us one step nearer to delivering our exciting vision for local healthcare.”
Adam Green, Managing Director, Carillion Construction Services commented: “Carillion is delighted to have reached financial close and we look forward to working with Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust to deliver a state-of-the-art hospital that will enable the Trust to achieve its objectives for delivering significant improvements in healthcare services for the local community for many years to come.”
Trust Chief Executive, Toby Lewis added: “We have anticipated this day for some time and welcome financial close as a pivotal moment for our Trust. A new hospital for half a million people locally in 2018 is imperative if we are to improve outcomes of care and make the local NHS a fantastic place in which to work.”
For more information about our new Midland Metropolitan Hospital, please visit this link.
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