The following information is taken from the presentation shown at the public engagement sessions on plans for service improvements and capacity expansion, including the opening of the new Heartlands Treatment Centre, and new modular (prefabricated) wards at Good Hope, Heartlands and Solihull Hospitals.
Background and context
We are making good progress on recovering our services, but we are hindered by the pre-COVID-19 baseline. UHB, and the NHS more widely, was under substantial pressure; increasing demand and workforce shortages led to a growing mismatch between demand and capacity.
These pressures affected the ability to meet the needs of our local population, but also affected UHB’s ability to provide specialist, complex care to patients across the region and nationally, such as organ transplantation or specialist surgery.
Prioritisation of clinical need, against finite physical capacity and workforce resource, is a daily occurrence. The decision-making is difficult and not sustainable.
What are we doing to address our challenges?
Capacity expansion
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The Heartlands Treatment Centre opens in January 2023. The £97m facility will provide replacement and expanded capacity for ambulatory patient diagnosis and treatment. -
Seven wards and a new medical treatment centre have already opened at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. -
Three mobile theatres, two new gastroscopy rooms, a urology treatment room and an ophthalmology hub opened at Solihull in 2021. -
Two new modular wards were fully opened on the Good Hope Hospital site in August 2022 and two new modular wards are due to open at Heartlands Hospital in February 2023. -
Expanded medical assessment units opened at Good Hope and Heartlands Hospitals.
Re-provision of Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Solihull Hospital
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) and NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) have worked through several potential options for an MIU service, as part of a thorough options appraisal, which has been now considered through UHB’s internal processes.
The current preferred option, of UHB and the ICB, is to re-provide an MIU and urgent treatment centre (UTC) on the Solihull Hospital site, in line with the national service specification.
Following approval from the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, we are now proceeding with the proposal.
Building works will commence in the new year, with an anticipated opening date of June 2023.
The MIU will be staffed by emergency nurse practitioners (ENPS) and support staff, and will operate between 08:00 and 22:00, seven days per week.
- The Trust has submitted a planning application to build an elective hub, encompassing six theatres (replacement of three modular theatres and creating three new) as well as support services
- This would result in a total provision of 13 high-quality theatres
- The theatres would cover a broad range of low- and high-complexity cancer and non-cancer surgery
- There is an indicative opening date of December 2023 subject to approvals
Proposed service configuration
- Several essential service changes were made, under emergency legislation, to ensure the safe and continued provision of services. These have all now been reviewed alongside national policy requirements and local considerations
- University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) is developing a proposed model for elective care which is based around consolidating current services, offering more surgical activity across all four hospital sites
- Non-elective emergency care proposed to remain across the three main acute sites (Good Hope and Heartlands Hospitals and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham)
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Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB)
The proposal supports the continued provision of complex major surgery, including transplantation, and highly specialist major cancer surgery at QEHB.
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Solihull Hospital
High-volume, low-complexity surgery, including orthopaedic joint replacement and intra-abdominal surgery (upper and lower GI, urology, gynaecology). The hospital will also provide high volume intermediate to major cancer surgery.
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Heartlands Hospital
High-volume ambulatory surgery (less than 24 hours' stay) through the new Heartlands Treatment Centre. Remaining theatres dedicated to trauma (fractured hips and other frailty fractures) and other acute surgery.
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Good Hope Hospital
Elective ambulatory surgery would be concentrated on general and ophthalmology provision. Remaining theatre provision dedicated to acute surgery and ambulatory trauma.
Proposed service changes
Colorectal surgery
Increasing activity through additional capacity at new Solihull Hospital surgical hub.
| Hospital | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Good Hope Hospital | Acute/elective | Acute |
| Heartlands Hospital | Acute | Acute |
| Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham | Acute/elective | Acute/elective |
| Solihull Hospital | Elective | Elective |
Breast surgery
Centralisation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), enabling patients to be treated at QEHB for entire pathway/all appointments.
| Hospital | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Good Hope Hospital | Elective | N/A |
| Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham | Elective | Elective |
| Solihull Hospital | Elective | N/A |
Burns and plastics
Centralisation at QEHB to align with other dependent services.
| Hospital | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham | Acute/elective | Acute/elective |
| Solihull Hospital | Elective | N/A |
Gynaecology
Expansion of site provision, and increasing activity through the new Solihull Hospital surgical hub.
| Hospital | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Good Hope Hospital | Acute/elective | Acute |
| Heartlands Hospital | N/A | Acute |
| Solihull Hospital | N/A | Elective |
Communications and engagement
This briefing is part of a programme of communications and engagement, which includes public engagement sessions across hospitals sites and online, as well as information in local media, social media and community settings.
- Drop-in meetings for the public at all hospital sites
- Local media
- Letters to all patients on the waiting list for planned procedures
- Extensive social media activity
- Posters, leaflets and hard copies of key information in health, care and community settings
- Presentations and briefing to patient, carer and community groups
- Advertisements in hyper-local publications and articles in Trust newspaper, "news@QEHB"
- Stakeholder briefings to elected members to enable them to respond to enquiries directly from their constituents
- Briefings to primary care to enable them to inform their patients
- Briefings and information for the voluntary, community and third sector councils (BVSC and CAVA), and Healthwatch to enable them to inform members of the public, and respond to queries and concerns
- Planning department consultation activity re planning application for new Elective Hub atSolihull Hospital
- Letters to residents
- Site notices
- Newspaper article
- Elected members communicate key messages to their constituents
- Information in Solihull Council, Birmingham City Council and Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council residents’ newsletter
Last reviewed: 03 January 2023
