Opening the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
An integrated Programme Management Office (PMO) to ensure accountability, assurance and decision making to support a successful transition and opening of the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) in late 2024.
The Challenge
For Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, the creation of the new MMUH represents far more than a modern new hospital building.
Instead, it marks a significant change in the approach to delivering care, establishing a central hub for acute and emergency services currently arranged across City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital and bringing together clinical teams to deliver care using advanced technology from one modern, purpose-built facility.
The Trust recognised that success would require not only a seamless transition of patients and services from existing hospital sites, but a transformation of culture to support the new care delivery approach and realise the many wider community regenerative benefits.
Approach
Archus have been working alongside Trust teams since late 2021 to establish and run a new Programme Management Office (PMO) to support effective transformation, risk management and accountability.
Our programme management experts undertook a root and branch review of the current reporting and governance structures in place within the MMUH programme and made suggestions for changes and improvements, based on the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) methodology.
This included a revised governance structure which saw the creation of an independent (but linked) Programme Company, allowing resources, reporting and decision making to be ring-fenced to effectively support the requirements of the complex and multi-faceted programme.
We identified several additional workstreams required to support the safe opening of the hospital and implemented an end-to-end programme/schedule which included the tasks required from all ten workstreams, each clearly defined and logic-linked to support robust schedule management and monitoring of milestones.
Additionally, we deployed dedicated Delivery Managers to ensure hands-on support for:
- Workforce – including the implementation of recruitment and retention plans, the Electronic Staff Record, and the Trust’s Integrated People Plan.
- Communications – including engagement with staff, patients, population, and Health and Local Authority Partners.
- MMUH Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) – delivering the commissioning, workforce, and service transformation requirements for a co-located UTC.
More recently we have worked with both Trust and New Hospitals Programme (NHP) to use the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Gateway process to bring independent assurance to the MMUH programme. We have successfully completed a Project Assurance Review (PAR); a bespoke form of gateway due to the complex history of the programme. An IPA Gate 4, with key lines of enquiry tailored to healthcare service readiness, will be supported in 2024.
Outcome
Archus’ has successfully reduced programme and workstream delays and improved the overall RAG-rating of the programme.
We continue to support Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust with the implementation of the transition plan for the new MMUH hospital as it prepares for opening in late 2024. Our approach is being used as a pilot for the New Hospital Programme and will be key to helping inform commissioning and transition approaches for subsequent projects in the programme.
The flagship MMUH is now open and has already played a significant role in improving outcomes for patients and revitalising the region. This hospital is acting as a catalyst for growth for surrounding areas and signifying an era of change in what was once the heart of the industrial West Midlands.
- Rightsizing schemes have reduced the need for 78 acute beds through schemes such as POCUS through Hospital at Home
- Near eradication of admissions from care homes in Sandwell.
- ED performance improved by 4 % and by 10% in comparison to previous year.
- Stroke pathway time to CT now at 93% compliance, against the 1-hour standard, up 9%.
- An average reduction of 30 admissions per day, in line with bed rightsizing impact and the equivalent 78 bed benefit.
- Emergency Department staff turnover reduced by 9% and Sickness by 2%.
More than a hospital.
Talk to Archus about embedding values-led programme management that supports cultural change and community regeneration.
