Locals ready to see the new hospital open, but tired of the traffic

The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) in Smethwick will be one of the largest hospitals to open in the UK in 10 years.

It will house a large accident and emergency department, bringing together the two A&E services currently operating at Birmingham City Hospital and West Bromwich’s Sandwell Hospital, with 50% of the beds in both adult wards and rooms for the children.

With the name now emblazoned in signature orange on the front of the building in Smethwick, the organization is working with construction giants Balfour Beatty to prepare for the summer handover.

A public trust board meeting with Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust on May 8 set the dates for the next stages of publicizing and officially opening the hospital.

The handover of the building is now scheduled to take place on 1 June, which includes the completion of the stress testing of the trusted clinical scenario, the installation of all equipment and supplies are loaded into the building and the staff are brought in safely.

The next stage has been called Patient Day 1, which is due to take place in October and would see Sandwell patient services move in first on October 6, then city patient services move in five weeks later, subject to preparation operational.

Maternity and neonatal patients will move in on November 6 and adult patient services on November 10, while the trust said MMUH will be fully operational by December.

As the date approaches, nearby residents and business owners said disruptions to the building have been minimal and the hospital itself would be a huge benefit to the area.

Earl Drummond, owner of Sunrise Bakery, a Caribbean bakery on the A457 overlooking the hospital, said he was pleased to see the work completed because of the boost it would bring to the local economy, but he also expressed concerns about parking around the hospital.

He said: “There has been minimal impact and disruption around here because the work has gone on for so long and it hasn’t bothered me business-wise, but I have concerns for my business and the residents around the car park as I don’t think . they have enough parking available.

“One thing people don’t seem to realize is that in Birmingham we’ve lost a lot of hospitals over the last 30-40 years and while we’ve kept West Bromwich and City hospitals, we’ve lost a number of others. in the region, so to have one that can answer so many things is a massive boost.

“I think the health benefits are going to be huge, but the economic benefits are going to be massive, like we’ve lost so many industries around here and so having this here is going to benefit so many people.”

In a nearby housing estate, a resident, who asked not to be named, said she was delighted to have the hospital on her doorstep if she decided to have another child.

She said: “The building work at the hospital has been quiet and while the alarm does go off occasionally, it is relatively quiet compared to being in the city center and the only time I see it being noisy is when the ambulances come in.

“I expect traffic to increase, but I think back to when I gave birth at the Municipal Hospital and the conditions there were terrible and I had a terrible time, while I look forward to whether I have another baby in the future, for to be able to go there.

“She’s going to give birth in a brand new hospital with a brand new and easily accessible maternity ward, so it’s going to be that much better.”

To find out more about the hospital go to swbh.nhs.uk/our-new-hospital/.