The start of construction of Heartlands Hospital’s £28.2m Ambulatory Care and Diagnostics Centre (ACAD) was officially marked by Minister of Health, Edward Argar MP.

The Minister virtually joined Heartlands Hospital staff, patients and members of the local community to see paediatrics patient, Isobel Taylor aged 11 and Public Governor, Keith Fielding bury a time capsule in celebration of the start of main construction of the new building on Thursday 3 December 2020.

Buried during Heartlands Hospital’s 125^th Anniversary, the time capsule, filled with memorabilia and messages, represents the hospital’s rich history as well as its exciting future to come.

The new £98.2m centre is due to open in October 2022 and will house a range of services, including outpatients, endoscopy, day case surgery and imaging, and will care for nearly half a million patients each year.

The four-storey building next to the main entrance will cover a 16,000m² footprint, with each floor being around 3,600m² – approximately half the size of Wembley Stadium’s pitch.

Heartlands Hospital’s ACAD development was one of 20 NHS capital development projects to be awarded funding by the Department of Health and Social Care in August 2019.

Chief Executive, Dr David Rosser, said: “We thought a time capsule was a nice way to capture our memories right from when Heartlands was called Little Bromwich and was known as an infectious diseases hospital, to now so our future colleagues can see how much the hospital has changed and hopefully offering future generations a glimpse of what the hospital means to people in 2020. One of the ways we will be doing that is through ACAD.

“The new build will boost the Trust’s capacity to meet the evolving healthcare requirements of local people, with modern purpose-fit facilities to deliver the best possible care and high quality specialist services. The start of construction of ACAD is a momentous occasion for staff and patients across Birmingham and Solihull and it is only fitting that the time capsule is buried in the grounds of the new build.”

Please visit the ACAD website for more information or email The Big Build team.

Email: TheBigBuild@uhb.nhs.uk