The successful opening of Midland Metropolitan University Hospital has relied on many people, teams and stakeholders. Now open, it will have a far-reaching impact – not only on those we care for but also on staff and our community in terms of regeneration, jobs, housing, charitable endeavours and so much more.
Getting us to Midland Met has been a team effort and the staff at the Trust have all played a part in making it #morethanahospital.
Find out about all the different people and roles that have helped make our move a reality below:
Zaheer Iqbal, portering and security manager, has been at the Trust for four years. He was involved with workforce planning at Midland Met for both departments, the design for the security control room and the positioning of cameras, including access control.
He said: “The design of the new hospital means that the back of house will be more efficient and private for patients when transported from A to B. Our new hospital will also benefit from enhanced infection control by reducing cross-contamination due to less traffic in these areas.
“I have visited the site a few times, and I can see massive improvements on each visit. The size of the hospital is breathtaking, and the large windows for the patients and families to admire the views are positive features. The décor is colour coded with natural light flooding in, and it’s a welcoming environment.”
Mark Lee – Security, has been at the Trust for 16 years. For several years, he has been heavily involved in the project with security design, the CCTV layout and access control.
Mark remarked: “I work behind the scenes to ensure that all our estate, including our retained estate, meets the same security standards as Midland Met. When our new hospital opens in Smethwick, it will bring together all acute and emergency care services that currently take place at City and Sandwell Hospitals. The new hospital will be monitored by our security system, helping to ensure colleague, patient and visitor safety.”
Saleem Mohammed, Senior Improvement Project Manager, has been part of our Trust for eight years and is working on the ward standardisation project for Midland Met.
He explained: “The focus of this project is to have a standard way of working across all our wards (i.e., ward rounds and ward handovers).
Being the project lead for hospital standardisation and seven day working on our new acute care transformation involves engaging with all the teams in our Trust on how and what we can do to standardise our working practices across the organisation.
“My role will support and coach continuous quality improvements in all areas and services that Midland Met will provide. This includes services that cover our patients, people, and population.”
Paul Hazle, Senior Commissioning Manager, works across the entire project with clinical and operational teams to get things right for when we move into our new hospital. This means working closely with stakeholders to review their requirements against the brief and he keeps them informed of progress and any challenges they may need to work through together.
He said: “It is the biggest project our Trust has undertaken, and it has the potential to make a real impact in terms of the care we deliver and how we support our communities for years to come.
“By successfully adapting our services and focusing on our community services, we will transform our services, and that is a significant change for us and those who rely on our services.”
Aaron Bertram- Miller, Nursing Associate Educator, works as part of the nursing and midwifery team. His role involves helping to train and educate nursing associate apprentices in the organisation.
He told us: “Nursing associates work as part of the nursing team and our nursing associates will help shape and support the care we provide at Midland Met. We aim to make 25 per cent of Midland Met’s workforce nursing associate apprentices. It is a big ambition for the team, and we are developing plans to help us make this ambition a reality.”
Aaron added: “There is something for everyone at Midland Met. You do not need to be a patient to visit the hospital – the community focus is impressive with the Winter Garden, outdoor green spaces and the art gallery.”