Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Last updated

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Type NHS hospital trust
Established1 April 2002 (2002-04-01)
Budget£436 million
Hospitals Sandwell General Hospital
City Hospital, Birmingham
Rowley Regis Hospital
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
ChairDavid Nicholson
Chief executiveRichard Beeken
Website www.swbh.nhs.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust is one of the largest National Health Service teaching Trusts in England and comprises Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich, City Hospital, Birmingham, Rowley Regis Hospital and Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. The trust was established on 1 April 2002 following approval given by the Secretary of State for Health to amalgamate Sandwell Healthcare NHS Trust and City Hospital NHS Trust.

Contents

Development

In January 2014 it was reported that the trust had invested £3 million in creating a new blood sciences laboratory at Sandwell Hospital which processes more than 7,000 samples and produces around 30,000 test results a day. It was designed to fit with the needs of the proposed new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick. [1]

The trust agreed in July 2015 to join the Black Country Alliance with Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. The plan was to create a jointly owned Company Limited by Guarantee which would enable the three trusts to jointly bid for contracts. There would also be some consolidation of administrative functions like payroll, information technology and estates. [2]

The trust planned to cut around 1,400 posts between 2015 and 2020 in order to reduce pay costs by £16.1m, though it was recruiting more staff including A&E consultants and nurses. [3]

Midland Metropolitan University Hospital

In July 2014 it was announced that £353 million would be invested in a new 670-bed acute Midland Metropolitan University Hospital covering 16 acres in Grove Lane, Smethwick. £100 million would be provided by HM Treasury, the remainder privately. Rowley Regis Hospital in the Tory marginal seat of Halesowen and Rowley Regis would have an expanded role in non-acute, community-based care. [4] Carillion's joint venture, the Hospital Company, was to build it at a capital cost of £297m and provide hard facilities management and life-cycle maintenance services. The new hospital will have 15 operating theatre suites. [5]

On 15 January 2018, Carillion went into liquidation, partly due to problems with the hospital contract, and delaying the project still further [6] [7] On 26 March 2018, it was reported that the project had been costing over £17m more than Carillion had officially reported. [8]

In March 2018, Skanska negotiated to take over the hospital's construction, [9] with the project 18 months late and likely to cost an additional £125 million. [10] In May 2018, the NHS trust had yet to confirm Skanska to complete the project, and with the unfinished site deteriorating, completion was likely to be pushed back an additional two years, to 2022. [11] In June 2018, a consortium of banks financing the project withdrew their support, and HM Treasury cancelled the PFI contract for construction of the hospital, leaving the NHS trust with a lengthy search for new investment and pushing the completion date back to at least 2022. [12] [13]

In the meantime, the NHS trust started tendering for an interim contractor to deliver a £13m early works programme to protect the site until a replacement construction contractor is appointed; [14] in October 2018, this work was awarded to Balfour Beatty. [15]

In August 2018, market testing with contractors showed there was little appetite to bid under a private finance model, and that a PF2 bid would be over £100m more expensive and take six months longer. As a result, the NHS trust sought direct government funding, [16] and on 16 August 2018, the government announced it would fund completion of the hospital. [17] In November 2018, it was reported that the NHS trust was struggling to find a contractor to complete the hospital, with the possibility that the hospital might be delayed beyond 2022. [18]

The hospital eventually opened on 6 October 2024. [19]

General practice

The trust took over Great Bridge Health Centre and Lyndon Health Centre in 2019 and will take over Summerfield GP and Urgent Care Practice from Virgin Care in June[ when? ]. Together the three practices have about 15,000 registered patients. The trust will be running them in conjunction with Your Health Partnership, a Sandwell-based GP led partnership. [20]

Performance

Four-hour target in the emergency department quarterly figures from NHS England Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ Sandwell And West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust A&E performance 2005-18.png
Four-hour target in the emergency department quarterly figures from NHS England Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

The trust was among the three worst nationally over care for women giving birth. [21] The trust issued invoices to patients thought to be ineligible for NHS treatment totalling £2.5 million in 2018–9, but only collected £0.3 million. [22] [23]

Vaping

Two hospitals run by the trust opened vape shops in 2019 in conjunction with a ban on smoking. At the time, Public Health England advised hospitals to let patients vape indoors - and even in bed. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 by Prime Minister John Major, and expanded considerably by the Blair government, PFI is part of the wider programme of privatisation and macroeconomic public policy, and presented as a means for increasing accountability and efficiency for public spending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandwell</span> Metropolitan borough in England

Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council defines the borough as the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Rowley Regis includes the towns of Blackheath and Cradley Heath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Liverpool University Hospital</span> Hospital in Mount Vernon Street, Liverpool

The Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH) is a major teaching and research hospital located in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the largest and busiest hospital in Merseyside and Cheshire, and has the largest emergency department of its kind in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carillion</span> British construction company, 1999–2018

Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interserve</span>

Interserve was a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and was formally wound up in 2022. In 2019 the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and had a workforce of 34,721 people.

The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust was an NHS Trust in Liverpool. It managed the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital and Liverpool University Dental Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laing O'Rourke</span> Multinational construction company in the United Kingdom

Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, England. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O'Rourke. It is the largest privately owned construction company in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London</span> Hospital in London, England

Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a hospital in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It was opened in March 2001 and serves patients from the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. The hospital was built to accommodate the services previously provided at Greenwich District Hospital and Brook General Hospital, and is a Private Finance Initiative hospital. It is managed by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs the Great Western Hospital, a large hospital situated in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, next to junction 15 of the M4 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Hospital Coventry</span> Hospital in Coventry, West Midlands, England

University Hospital Coventry is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital situated in the Walsgrave on Sowe area of Coventry, West Midlands, England, 4 miles (6 km) north-east of the city centre. It is part of the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, and is the principal hospital serving Coventry and Rugby, providing a wide range of services. It works in partnership with the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School. It has a large, progressive accident & emergency department providing a trauma service to Coventry and Warwickshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kier Group</span> British construction, services and property group

Kier Group plc is a British construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, and the Private Finance Initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust</span> NHS mental health trust

The Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS trust that provides mental health, learning disability and eating disorders services. It serves a population of around two million people living in County Durham, Darlington and most of North Yorkshire. It is geographically one of the largest NHS Foundation Trusts in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amey plc</span> United Kingdom-based infrastructure support service provider

Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a United Kingdom-based infrastructure support service provider.

Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Uxbridge, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springfield University Hospital</span> Hospital in England

Springfield University Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Tooting, South London and also the headquarters of the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowley Regis Hospital</span> Hospital in West Midlands, England

Rowley Regis Community Hospital is a hospital in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, England. It is managed by the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.

Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust runs Russells Hall Hospital and Guest Hospital in Dudley and Corbett Hospital Outpatient Centre, in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. It also provides community health services to the borough.

Healthcare in the West Midlands was, until July 2022, the responsibility of five integrated care groups: Birmingham and Solihull, Sandwell and West Birmingham, Dudley, Wolverhampton, and Walsall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital</span> Hospital in England

The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is a hospital specialising in emergency care for sick and injured patients, opened in 2015 in Cramlington, Northumberland, England by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland Metropolitan University Hospital</span> Hospital near Birmingham, England

Midland Metropolitan University Hospital is an acute general hospital on Grove Lane in Smethwick, near Birmingham. The hospital was designed by a team led by HKS and including Edward Williams Architects and Sonnemann Toon Architects. Its emergency department replaced those at Sandwell and City hospitals.

References

  1. "£3m invested in hi-tech blood laboratory at Sandwell Hospital". Express and Star. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  2. "Midlands trusts to create £1bn turnover alliance". Health Service Journal. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  3. "200 face jobs axe at Sandwell hospital trust in bid to save £16m". Express and Star. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. "Smethwick super hospital on way at last as Chancellor George Osborne agrees to £353m scheme". Express and Star. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. "Carillion choice for Smethwick hospital". Express and Star. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  6. Matthews-King, Alex (16 January 2018). "Alarm in hospitals as NHS triggers emergency plans in 14 trusts after Carillion collapse". Independent. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. Davies, Rob; Clark, Tim; Campbell, Denis (19 January 2018). "Carillion collapse further delays building at two major hospitals". Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. Price, David (26 March 2018). "Carillion understated hospital costs by £70m". Construction News. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  9. Morby, Aaron (12 March 2018). "Contractors lined-up for Carillion problem PFI hospitals". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  10. Morby, Aaron (20 April 2018). "Carillion's Midlands Pf2 hospital to cost extra £125m". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. Morby, Aaron (2 May 2018). "Midlands hospital opening pushed back two years". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  12. Plimmer, Gill (10 June 2018). "Treasury scrambles for investors for Carillion hospital project" . Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  13. Penfold, Simon (27 June 2018). "Government may take over work on Midland Met Hospital if new PFI attempt fails". Express & Star. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  14. Morby, Aaron (3 July 2018). "Plan to restart stalled Midlands hospital with new PF2 deal". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  15. Morby, Aaron (4 October 2018). "Balfour bags stalled Midland Met hospital patch-up". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  16. Morby, Aaron (3 August 2018). "Trust cans PF2 plan for Carillion-hit hospital restart". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  17. Marshall, Jordan (16 August 2018). "Government confirms bailout for stalled Carillion hospital job". Building. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  18. "NHS trust struggling to find replacement to build post-Carillion Birmingham hospital". National Health Executive. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  19. "Patients transferred as super hospital opens doors". BBC News . 6 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  20. "Hospital foundation trust to take over three GP practices". Pulse. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  21. NHS leaves one in four mothers alone during labour or childbirth The Guardian
  22. "Trusts missing out on tens of millions from overseas patients". Health Service Journal. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  23. Jordan, John. "Vape Shop" . Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  24. "Vape shops open on NHS hospital sites, in bid to stub out smoking". Daily Telegraph. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.