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Health and Social Care Secretary Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP visited Heartlands Hospital on Wednesday 16 February 2022 and thanked staff for their unwavering work during the pandemic.

It was part of the Secretary’s Road to Recovery tour across England which included a number of visits to NHS sites.

Staff shared their experiences of working under immense pressure during the pandemic and discussed the government’s plans to reform, integrate and fund the NHS and social care.

The Health and Social Care Secretary saw first-hand how key sites are improving patient care and set out how a more joined up health and care system will mean better care for everyone and help tackle disparities.

Mr Javid said: “It’s been fantastic to visit the health services in the North West and West Midlands to thank staff for their efforts throughout the pandemic and outline our commitment to reform, recovery and funding for our NHS and social care.

“We are committed to tackling the COVID-19 backlog and building a health and social care system for the long term that works for everyone.”

At Heartlands Hospital, the Health and Social Care Secretary met with participants in the cutting-edge PANORAMIC antivirals trial.

As part of the trial, patients with pre-existing conditions can benefit from new antiviral treatments for COVID-19 to reduce the potential for hospital admission and help them recover quickly.

He also visited the site of the new Heartlands Treatment Centre due to open later this year.

Backed by £97.1 million of government funding, the centre will provide a modern, spacious environment for patients to receive non-emergency procedures and treatments including diagnostics, day surgery and outpatient appointments that will help tackle the COVID-19 backlog by treating up to half a million patients each year.

The Health and Social Care Secretary discussed initiatives including the delivery plan to tackle the COVID-19 backlog of elective care, Integration White Paper and his personal mission to eradicate health disparities, which will include the publication of a Health Disparities White Paper later this year.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive, Prof David Rosser, said:

“We’re proud to have the opportunity to highlight the progress made on the Heartlands Treatment Centre to the Health Secretary. We are grateful that he also took the time to listen to the experiences of my tremendous colleagues who have been on the front line of the pandemic.

“Heartlands Treatment Centre will provide a modern environment for our clinicians to give exceptional standards of care, state-of-the-art diagnostics, and more non-emergency day-case surgery for up to half a million people in our communities – vitally supporting our ability to get back on track and improve waiting lists for patients in the wake of COVID-19.

“This new facility is on time and on budget, and it will also bring huge potential for staff development and excellent career opportunities for local people.”

Heartlands Treatment Centre will open in late October 2022 and will have five floors, which will provide the following clinical services:

• MRI, CT; ultra sound and plain X-ray facilities
• Test services and a centralised pre-operative assessment service for surgical and endoscopy patients
• A specialist outpatient’s floor with facilities for therapies, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) services and Audiology
• Three day case theatres
• Two Interventional Radiology rooms
• Four endoscopy rooms
• Two urology treatment rooms
• A minor operations room
• A 55 space recovery area
• A Centralised Decontamination Unit providing an on-site service to the Heartlands Treatment Centre, as well as to Heartlands Hospital theatres and Critical Care areas

Find out more on the Heartlands Treatment Centre (HTC) website.