Trust delays opening of Carillion-hit hospital again

In a statement, Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust said its new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick will open to patients in spring 2024 – more than eight years after construction began.

The Metropolitan was one of two new hospitals affected by the collapse of building firm Carillion in early 2018, despite local chiefs hoping the project would not be too severely delayed at the time.

However, the delay caused by Carillion’s collapse was exacerbated by the pandemic and shortages of supplies and workforce, which led to the trust planning to open the hospital in 2023.

Announcing the revised opening date today, trust chair Sir David Nicholson said he was “confident” the hospital would open in spring 2024.

The date has also been amended to accommodate a new façade, after fire tests carried out on cladding raised safety concerns.

Sir David, a former CEO of NHS England, added that the hospital’s construction would be completed “before the end of 2023” and that it would open “as soon as possible” after that.

The delays have pushed the cost of the hospital from £688m to nearly £1bn, although it is not clear what the final cost of the hospital will be.

When built, MMUH is expected to have more than 700 beds, 11 operating theatres, a purpose-built emergency department, 15 delivery rooms for maternity services and a midwife-led birthing unit.

Although construction began in the middle of the previous decade, the project has since been incorporated into the government’s New Hospitals Programme which has provided funding to complete the hospital.

Sir David said: “We are grateful to the New Hospitals Programme team for their support in ensuring we have the resources and expert advice to complete this new hospital, that will serve the Sandwell and West Birmingham populations for at least 50 years.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to deliver a great facility and improve health outcomes, with the added benefits of regeneration for our local communities.”

Plans for the facility, which will see the trust relocate acute services from its two current hospital sites of Birmingham City and Sandwell General, have been in the pipeline for more than a decade.