Contract to finish hospital signed

Balfour Beatty agrees deal with NHS to complete beleaguered project

ACONTRACT to finally finish construction of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick has been signed.

NHS bosses have agreed the deal with Balfour Beatty UK Construction Services to complete construction of the 669-bed hospital by 2022.

The project was stalled following the collapse of previous contractor Carillion in January 2018 but early work eventually resumed later in the year.

An interim contract to repair damage to the unfinished hospital was awarded to Balfour Beatty but there was a long wait for funding to ensure the project could be completed.

Then in October the Government announced it was providing £350 million to rescue the troubled scheme.

The new Midland Metropolitan will bring together acute healthcare services for Sandwell and west Birmingham

onto a single site, providing state-of-the-art clinical facilities and equipment and serving more than 600,000 people.

Dean Banks, chief executive of Balfour Beatty UK Construction Services, said: “This is a key project for the Midlands and a long-awaited moment for healthcare services in the local community.

“Following the successful completion of the early works phase, we are pleased that we have been entrusted to deliver the final elements of the scheme.

“Our wealth of experience and expertise will ensure that the Midland Metropolitan Hospital will service future generations for years to come.”

Richard Samuda, chairman of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, added: “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.”

Midland Metropolitan will replace acute and emergency services at Sandwell and City hospitals.

Those sites will continue providing other services but part of the City Hospital site, in the Winson Green district of Birmingham, are expected to be demolished and replaced by housing.

In March 2017, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust lodged new plans with the city council to build up to 750 houses on the site in Dudley Road but these have been forced onto the back burner following delays to the opening of the new hospital.