- NHS hospital
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Assessment report published 18 February 2026
Contents
Ratings - Surgery
Our view of the service
The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH) opened on the 6 October 2024. The development of MMUH was to provide the chance to transform healthcare within their communities.
The new hospital would provide modern facilities to treat patients, and it would act as a catalyst for growth in the immediate surrounding areas. It signified an era of change in what was once the heart of the industrial West Midlands.
A collaborative partnership was underway between Birmingham City Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, working with West Midlands Combined Authority, Homes England, the Canal & River Trust, and the trust to regenerate what was known as the Smethwick to Birmingham corridor.
The trusts ambition was to create positive change in the neighbourhoods surrounding MMUH. It would lead to better air quality and the reintroduction of more green space across the area. Midland Metropolitan University Hospital hope to provide a chance to help revive the area, supporting a healthy community for those who already live there and those who will choose to live, work and visit.
The trust had also recently secured funding, in partnership with education providers and others, to develop a learning campus onsite at MMUH. It aims to bring new learning opportunities and help them train the next generation of healthcare professionals from the communities they serve.
The surgery service was rated Good at the last inspection; however, this was at the previous location.
The surgery department comprised of: Surgical wards: A8 and B8. Trauma and elective orthopaedic ward: A7. Operating theatre department with 12 theatres and a recovery unit. Surgical assessment unit. Surgical Same Day Emergency Care.
We carried out this announced assessment on the 3 and 4 September 2025.We spoke with 28 patients and various visitors. We spoke with 40 members of staff. These included senior managers, all grades of nursing staff, healthcare assistants, domestic staff, consultant surgeons, anaesthetists, and other grades of doctors.
We inspected this service using our single assessment framework and looked at all the key questions and 33 quality statements. The main service provided by the hospital was surgery for adult patients.
There were effective systems to ensure that standards of cleanliness and hygiene were maintained. The service had enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep people safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment. The service managed patient safety incidents well. Staff recognised incidents and reported them appropriately. The service made sure staff were competent for their roles. All staff worked together as a team to benefit patients. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals supported each other to provide good care.
Patients told us they felt involved in their own care and treatment as staff took time to explain what was happening and why. We saw examples where staff had gone above and beyond what was expected to support patients. The trust planned and provided services in a way that met the needs of local people.The service treated concerns and complaints seriously, investigated them and learned lessons from the results, and shared these with all staff.
Managers and senior leaders had the right skills to perform their roles effectively. The trust had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and workable plans to turn it into action developed with involvement from staff, patients, and key groups representing the local community. There was evidence of improved culture across the service and there was strong leadership. Staff told us they felt supported, respected, valued and were proud to work at the trust. The service was committed to improving services by learning from when things went well and when they went wrong, promoting training, research, and innovation.
People's experience of this service
Feedback from patients was positive. We spoke to patients about their experiences, and they told us they were impressed with the referrals, the kind and responsive staff and the effective care and treatment they received. Patients felt that the hospital was clean and that staff took precautions to control infection, such as washing their hands before caring for them. They told us reception staff were informative and helpful. People were very complimentary of the whole experience at the service, with comments such as “I can’t praise them enough” and “the hospital was clean and the volunteers were a great help”.
We observed staff take time to reassure patients and answer their questions. We checked patient feedback forms that confirmed their care was excellent and that patients had no issues with the service.