Message from Chief Executive Richard Beeken and Chair, Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE

November 10, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

We did it!

Today we have completed our final patient moves from City Hospital, and Midland Metropolitan University Hospital is now a fully operational acute hospital.

Over three moves, we have safely transferred over 300 patients, from three-hour old babies to a 97-year-old lady. All three moves have been very successful and completed ahead of schedule each time. That is testament to the meticulous planning that has gone into it and we are incredibly proud of all of you.

This achievement is a significant milestone not only for our organisation, but also for the communities we serve, and it is all thanks to your dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment that we have made Midland Met a reality.

This was a monumental task – 10 years in the making.

But over the last six weeks, we have seen incredible collaboration of countless individuals from across all departments, from hospital clinicians to our community teams, admin teams, IT, estates and facilities, cleaning, communications, catering – the list is endless. Every single one of you has made a difference. Your professionalism, resilience, and passion for delivering the very best patient care through our new facilities and new care models, has been second to none.

We know that there will be challenges, as we continue to adapt to our new environment and the changes across our estate, but with the same spirit and teamwork that we have seen to date, we have no qualms that these will be dealt with professionally, and with the patient at the heart of our resolutions.  We must use this as a fresh start and to embrace best practice in acute care, leaving our old habits behind.

For most of us, this will be a once in a career journey, and there can be no better reward than knowing that you are leaving a legacy behind, that will benefit the Sandwell and West Birmingham communities for generations to come.

Thank you again for your commitments, and please do take some time to reflect on what a wonderful journey we have been on together.

The best is yet to come.

Kind regards,

Richard Beeken, Chief Executive
Sir David Nicholson, Chair