Patients transferred as super hospital opens doors

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust posted a photo on social media of senior nurses who were "helping to transfer patients safely".

A new super hospital has started to open its doors having previously been slated to open in spring of 2023, already some years behind schedule

The new A&E department at the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick has opened, with the department at West Bromwich's Sandwell Hospital closing. About 300 Sandwell patients will be transferred to the new building.

Patients at City Hospital in Birmingham should continue to use the A&E at that site until it closes on 10 November.

The new hospital will have 700 beds, a purpose-built A&E with dedicated children's assesment unit and separate adult and children’s wards. Half of the beds will be in a single ensuite room.

Work started on Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, which has more than 700 beds, in 2016

"By closing Sandwell Hospital A&E and City Hospital A&E, we are bringing two emergency departments together to provide more specialists under one roof," the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust said.

The Trust also posted a photo on the social media site X on Sunday morning, showing senior nurses who were "helping to transfer patients safely" from Sandwell Hospital.

Maternity patients from City Hospital will be transferred on 6 November with the final day of transfers taking place on 10th November.

WMAS head of emergency preparedness, resilience and response, James Williams

WMAS head of emergency preparedness, resilience and response, James Williams, said their transfer over to the new hospital has been "in the planning for nine or 10 months".

"It's been a fairly big operation," he said.

"We've been really engaged with the site here and the transfer team to ensure everything goes smoothly and to make sure the primary focus is on the patients - ensuring they get the appropriate level of care during the transfer times.

"We're confident that this new facility and its infrastructure and its up to date capabilities will improve delays."

The total cost of the new hospital is expected to be about £750m.

Work started in 2016 and it was expected to open in October 2019 at a cost of about £350m, but the collapse of the original contractor, Carillion, rising material costs, the withdrawal of government funding and a shortage of construction workers all added to the delays.