Midland Metropolitan University Hospital: Reflections on the opening of the new billion-pound site

• Watch ITV News Central Health Correspondent Hannah Bechelet's report

On Sunday 6th October, after years of delays, Covid, and mounting costs, the Midlands opened its newest hospital, the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.

At a cost of £988 million it has state-of-the-art facilities that promise to "provide better healthcare and transform the lives of those living nearby".

That is especially important in a city where the average life expectancy is lower than the national average, and where life expectancy can change by up to a decade, depending on where in the city you live.

It certainly seems that the hospital has a lot to offer.

Built to make extensive use of natural light, even the intensive care unit has large windows.

50% of patients will be cared for in single rooms with en-suite bathrooms, and technology has been heavily used to allow more of staff time to be focused on care.

But it has fewer beds than the departments it is replacing at City Hospital and Sandwell General, something the Trust that runs it says isn't a problem, because they have "transformed the way they are delivering care in the community" to make sure they are "delivering care in the hospital at a safe bed occupancy rate".

They are the only Trust in Birmingham and the Black Country whose admission to hospital of people over 65 is actually going down rather than up.

But with the known problems the country is facing with things such as social care, it does leave the question of what the community provision is like in the area.

I spoke to a doctor in Health and Society from Aston University who told me that the hospital is a great starting point, but that more care needs to go on outside of it.

Dr Alexis Paton thinks we need to look at what "needs to be bolstered" outside of hospital care and told me "for me I don't see that happening right now, but I hope that is the aspiration for the future".

That's something the Secretary of State of Health told us too.

Wes Streeting said 'We also need to make sure that we get more of these neighbourhood services out and about in the community, whether its buses that people can walk on and get tested on, or bringing back the family doctor relationship so people can see one when they need one which is a massive issue here, and in fact right across England.'

When it comes to community services, there are some great examples.

Birmingham actually has a Community Healthcare NHS Trust, which champions events like the one we went to at St Andrews which was offering heart screening tests for locals and giving them information and fitness tips to help boost their health.

It's a way of bringing healthcare right to people's doors and the Trust wants to do more of it.

There's also great community work being done by the third sector too.

I went along to Welcome Change, which works out of one of the city's most deprived neighbourhoods. It provides a space for local people to access support that can help their health and wellbeing.

They say without the service, people would be relying more on the NHS for mental health and GP services.

However, the service is completely funded by the National Lottery and other grants, which constantly have to be applied for.

Celine Benoit, a Lecturer at Aston University, says that this model isn't sustainable.

"There's a lot of that work going on but it's mostly through the voluntary and community sector, so we're relying on organisations with not much funding who are constantly looking for more funding, whilst looking at supporting the health and wellbeing of local residents. So we have outstanding work, but we are relying too much on the good will of the local centres".

Watch our special programme as the Midland Met opens its doors in the West Midlands

The government does want to increase the integration of primary and community care services going forwards.

The message I am getting is that that needs to come quickly so that the huge investment in hospital care at Midland Metropolitan is matched by an up-to-date healthcare system in the community too.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, told us the Urgent Treatment Centre remains open at Sandwell Hospital, while the NHS has invested in emergency care at the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital and Walsall Manor Hospital, both of which people in the local area can attend.

It also added that while community groups provide a lot of additional support, the Trust has invested in community services too.

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