Midland Met super hospital to open to patients in 2020 after Carillion setback
Long-awaited work to finish building a super hospital in the West Midlands could begin in June, with opening to patients in 2020, says its future boss.
Toby Lewis, chief executive of the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, says any further delay to the Midland Metropolitan Hospital will impact on the quality of care provided by the trust.
The hospital was targeted for opening next year, combining acute and emergency services at Sandwell General Hospital and City Hospital in Birmingham
But the collapse of Carillion stopped work at the site in January, with the projects two thirds complete.
Work will remain at a standstill until a contractor is chosen by The Hospital Company, a move which will add £125m to the £350m hospital bill.
This week, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street revealed Swedish construction firm Skanska had been identified as the preferred new contractor.
Mr Lewis said: "What we really need to do now is get a contractor on site and get rebuilding.
"Obviously our PFI partner [The Hospital Company] has been seeking to do just that and they are moving toward their final proposals and those things need to be evaluated against all of the options.
"The crucial thing for us is, if we can, get this hospital open by 2020.
"That feels like the fastest date, but also a necessary date given the dilapidation of our existing hospitals and given the fact we are stretching emergency services across two sites.
"Every month of delay adds to the risk of quality in terms of what we are able to do."
He added: "It is entirely possible to see people mobilising on the site in June. That sort of late Spring timetable is consistent with opening in 2020."
The £125m increase in the cost of the project was down to three factors, said Mr Lewis.
He said it had spiralled because of inflation, the prospective reassigning to new builders and the fact Carillion had underbid for the work.
But he stopped short of criticising the failed construction firm, which had 80 people working at the site. Sixty of those have been made redundant since.
He said: "I'm not going to make any personal criticism of individuals, clearly the collapse of Carillion was a tragedy for the local economy and responsibility for that is being investigated.
"We worked really well with them.
"They were sensible and smart so I'm absolutely not going to criticise them, but of course we are enormously frustrated by this hiatus and we need to get past it as quickly as possible."
Out of the remaining 20 workers from Carillion, 17 are now paid for by the receivers PwC, while three have transferred to The Hospital Company, which holds a stake in the construction project.
From 1,000 people working on the site, a team of 15 security guards keep watch on building, which towers over the surrounding community.
A tour inside reveals the extent of work which had been carried out.
The shell of the building is complete and much of the fitting for some departments, including the A&E and maternity wards have been done.
The skeleton for six lifts is visible. They will take visitors to the heart of the fifth floor, which will be the hospital reception.
The first two levels will be the car park, three levels will be taken up by clinical wards, while the top five will be patient wards.
A winter garden will be on the top roof.
In total, 4,000 staff will work at the hospital, which will get around 8,000 visitors a day.
Project director David Hollywood is keen for work to get started. He fears the potential weather damage this winter could cause if work does not get underway before.
He said: "The assets, the pipes, the wires, the building, the cladding –it is really important to be looked after and the building is finished and watertight as soon as possible."
