Heartbeat: Theatres setting the benchmark at Midland Met

September 16, 2022

The stage is set – spring 2024 is when Midland Met will open its doors to patients. It’s full steam ahead for SWB as we all work collaboratively to ensure we have everything in place ahead of our move to the largest acute care facility within our organisation.

With our revised construction programme now agreed upon, we’ve wasted no time continuing with our transformation plans that go beyond Midland Met. It is a new chapter for SWB and all of us. The changes will be far reaching, and our focus is on areas such as our acute care model, primary care integration and developing a new learning campus onsite at Midland Met.

With so much to look forward to, teams are now reviewing their plans, refining and amending them so that our services are as good as they can be when we welcome patients into our new hospital. On a recent benchmark room tour, the theatres team did just that as they visited the site to check on the progress of their area and to identify any changes that may be needed before they make the big move to Midland Met.

After a thorough walkthrough of the space where they saw some of the equipment in their area, Vishal Paringe, Clinical Director Theatres, told us: “Our visit was an excellent opportunity to see how our area looks while it’s under construction. We are excited to see the hospital open and the positive difference it will make in terms of the enhanced care we can deliver for our local communities.”

He added: “The team have been working on their plans for our move to Midland Met, and we are in a good place. Now that we have an opening date, it will motivate colleagues even more as they know when we’ll move into our new home.”

Kelly Papavarnava, Deputy Group Director for Nursing (Surgical Services), revealed: “We visited the site as a team to see our area in theatres and what it will look like when ready. These visits are helpful to us as we can see how our services need to work in the area, and we can recommend any potential changes we’d like to make so that our services are as effective as they can be for patients and staff.”

Adrian Bradbury, Theatres Manager, remarked: “Today we’ve had the opportunity to visit the theatres area, and it looks fabulous so far. We can see one or two things that may need to be changed but so far, so good.”

The team found that their area is taking shape well and that work has been completed to a high standard. Balbir Kaur, Matron, told us: “The visit gave us some context of where everything will be from a clinical point of view. It was such a contrast from last time we were there – the paint and flooring has made a big difference.

“Visiting our department has enabled us to visualise and highlight areas that will require a different care model compared to what we use now. We have been working on the standardisation of our practices and reviewing pathways at different sites, reviewing equipment, setting up working groups and having regular meetings with colleagues to keep the momentum going.”

Naran Vekaria, Balfour Beatty Construction Manager accompanied the group on their benchmark tour and told us: “I’m involved with getting the different wards and clinical areas ready throughout the building. Today the team looked at their area, and we have had some positive feedback.”