The deal to finish the Midland Metropolitan has been signed today, promising the local community that the much needed hospital will be completed in 2022. International construction and property consultancy Gleeds has been advising as NEC4 project manager and supervisor on the development.
Midland Met brings together acute healthcare services for the population of Sandwell and Western Birmingham onto a single site in Smethwick, providing state of the art clinical facilities and equipment, serving over 600,000 people.
Richard Samuda, Chairman of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, commented: “The people of Sandwell and West Birmingham have been waiting for this hospital for too long, as have our staff who are doing an incredible job delivering health care services from some buildings that are no longer best suited for modern healthcare services. This news cannot come soon enough for those colleagues. Reaching this milestone is testament to the determination of Trust colleagues and leaders in partner organisations, who, with the support of cross-party political leaders, have enabled us to agree this contract to complete the hospital.”
Mike Penny, director at Gleeds, said: “Through the provision of state-of-the-art buildings, the Midland Metropolitan Hospital provides a supportive infrastructure to efficiently meet the demand for current healthcare services across the Black County and Birmingham region. Our long-standing relationship with the NHS, robust track record in the delivery of large healthcare schemes and in-depth understanding of the needs of the sector mean we have been able to support the Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust to achieve its goal of providing fully integrated care of the highest quality.”
Midland Met replaces acute and emergency services at Sandwell and City Hospitals. Those sites will continue providing outpatient clinics, day-case surgery and routine diagnostics. Community beds are already in place to support the new model of care. The specialist Eye Centre (BMEC) and the Birmingham Treatment Centre (BTC) remain at City. A 24/7 Urgent Care Centre will be housed on the Sandwell Hospital site with intermediate care facilities at both hospital sites. Facilities at Sandwell are being refurbished to provide similar quality accommodation to that of the BTC and Midland Met.