EIB provides €147 million for UK hospital

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide £107 million (€146.7 million) to support the construction of the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Birmingham.

The hospital will provide healthcare for 530,000 people living in Sandwell and West Birmingham, and will include one of the largest accident and emergency departments in Europe. The hospital will be completed in three years’ time.

The new hospital will cost £340 million (€466.2 million) and will include 670 beds and 15 operating theatres, as well as a new public park. Financial close was reached following an agreement between the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, and developers Carillion.

The new accident and emergency department will replace emergency care facilities at City Hospital and Sandwell, and is expected to treat more than 140,000 patients a year.

This construction project is the first hospital to be supported by the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) which is intended to generate €315 billion of new investment across Europe.

Jonathan Taylor, EIB vice president, said, “Investment in new hospitals is essential to ensure that patients benefit from access to world-class treatment and facilities. The new super hospital will ensure the latest standards of healthcare and patient dignity for thousands of patients using the hospital each year.

“This investment will also act as a catalyst for wider economic regeneration in Sandwell and Birmingham.”