July 2017 MTS is in its 3rd year of providing Equipment Management Services to Midland Met.

Mayor of West Midlands marks major milestone for “super hospital”

The newly elected West Midlands Mayor Andy Street led the celebrations for the Topping Out ceremony at the Midland Metropolitan Hospital today (Friday, July 14).

Andy Street marked the major milestone at a music-filled event which was held at the site in Cranford Street, Smethwick, which is currently under construction.

The Topping Out ceremony falls on Black Country Day and is exactly three years since the project was given funding approval from the Treasury.

During the celebration, the last piece of steel was placed on the 10th floor, the highest point of the hospital, which is being built by support services firm Carillion for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust (SWBH).

The Mayor, along with SWBH’s Chief Executive Toby Lewis, Chairman Richard Samuda, Dr Sarb Clare, Clinical Lead for AMU, Dr Nuhu Usman, Clinical Director for Emergency Care and Mr Prem John, Speciality Lead for Emergency care at City Hospital, all signed a plaque and made a hand imprint into a special concrete block.

This will eventually be inserted into the building alongside the plaque.

The Mayor said: “It has been a pleasure to be at the Topping Out ceremony today and play a small part in what is a fantastic project which will help to drive up the quality of clinical services in Birmingham and Sandwell.

“However, this is also a major regeneration opportunity, using old industrial land and helping to act as a catalyst for the development of brownfield sites around it.

“The new hospital is also supporting local enterprises and the voluntary sector, as well as inspiring and engaging local schools.

“I congratulate everybody involved and look forward to seeing the finished and fully-functioning hospital.”

Chief Executive Toby Lewis added: “Today marks another definitive step towards opening our acute and emergency super centre.

“The new Midland Metropolitan Hospital will serve half a million people across Birmingham and the Black Country. Quality of care will be improved on a seven day basis. And the hospital will be a hub for community regeneration.

“We congratulate Carillion on their work with us and look forward to opening the Midland Metropolitan in Spring 2019.”

The new state-of the-art hospital, which will have around 670 beds and 15 operating theatre suites, has been designed to meet the best international and national standards to make it truly patient focused and to support the efficient delivery of high-quality clinical services.

The new hospital will also have a number of innovative design features including a fully enclosed Winter Garden, car parking within the hospital building on the ground and first floors to create a secure environment for both patients and staff and full separation of clinical activities and journeys from the public and non-clinical services. In addition, the design and construction of the hospital will meet the highest standards of sustainability.