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Heartbeat: Midland Met takes a big step forward

November 1, 2019

Saturday 12 October saw us take step closer to the opening of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital following an announcement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

It means the Trust can work towards completion of the construction contract with preferred bidder Balfour Beatty so that they can restart work on the super hospital, based in Smethwick. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, said “It is absolutely right that the Midland Metropolitan Hospital is completed so that doctors and nurses working for our NHS across the West Midlands can deliver excellent care in brand new, state-of-the-art facilities.”

The news has been welcomed by Toby Lewis, Chief Executive. He said “Midland Met is a vital regeneration project for Smethwick, and part of the wider Commonwealth Games development across Birmingham, including Perry Barr.

“We are working hard to open the hospital in 2022, and getting Balfour Beatty on site from December 2019 alongside our new Facilities Management partner, is a key step in that journey. Today’s announcement by the Treasury is hugely welcome news. We are working round the clock to conclude commercial close, and the agreement of the Final Business Case and appointment of a Preferred Bidder is the last national approval hurdle overcome.”

“The promise from Government in February 2018 was that no local NHS funds would need to be diverted to remedy the national collapse of Carillion. That promise has been honoured in full, which has the overt support of all local stakeholders from across political divides.

“We very much wish to deliver on the dividend across Sandwell and west Birmingham that uses the opening of the long-awaited new specialist acute hospital to release workforce time and NHS funds to better support primary, mental wellbeing and preventative services locally.

“Our integrated care plans for local neighbourhoods are at the forefront of work in the Midlands to create a sustainable future NHS, and we look forward to delivering real change and better outcomes for the communities that we serve.”