Heartbeat: Midland Met welcomes local council leader

September 8, 2021

Councillor Rajbir Singh, the leader of Sandwell Council, recently visited Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) to see how the build is progressing. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, he was pleased to see how work is continuing on site.

Midland Met will be one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the region and will provide integrated care for residents. Once complete, it will bring together teams who provide acute and emergency care, offering maternity, children and inpatient adult services to half a million people.

With several new facilities including, trauma theatres, emergency theatres, maternity theatres and delivery suites – it will deliver a new level of care. Modern purpose-built facilities and state-of-the-art equipment will support faster diagnosis and improve patient outcomes, enabling clinical teams to provide enhanced patient care.

One such example will be the dual hoist system which will help make the care we deliver for bariatric patients safer and more comfortable for both patients and colleagues. The hoist allows synchronisation of lifting to cope with uneven loading, ensuring safe lifting for bariatric patients.

Councillor Singh said: “My visit to Midland Met has enabled me to meet with Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust colleagues and see first-hand how well the project is progressing.

“Not only will the new hospital enhance the experiences of patients – providing excellence in clinical care – the positive change and opportunities afforded by the hospital are already providing a boost to the local economy, with 800 people – including local tradespeople – working on the project.

“Midland Met will become a cornerstone of the Black Country and West Birmingham region, breathing life into the heart of what was once the industrial West Midlands. Sandwell Council, Birmingham City Council, the West Midlands Combined Authority and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Homes England and the Canal and River Trust will focus on regenerating the Smethwick to Birmingham corridor. The hospital will play an essential part in these regeneration plans and help us build a better future for the local communities we serve.”

Rachel Barlow, Director of System Transformation, explained: “The aspirations for our new hospital reach far beyond providing effective clinical care. We are building a facility for our local communities to use. Our Winter Garden will have one of the largest gallery spaces in the region. We are also devising an arts and culture programme that will see a broad mix of content co-created and curated on-site at Midland Met. Plus, our opening festival will further help to bring our communities together.

“Beyond this, we are working across a partnership with Sandwell Council, Birmingham City Council, the Combined Authority and the Canal and River Trust to ensure Midland Met contributes directly to the wider regeneration in the region. We want to help improve the social and economic impact of what we can do as an organisation. That means we will be supporting plans to implement cycle routes, housing projects and, we aspire to have the first university campus in Smethwick adjacent to the Midland Met site.”