The second phase of a move into Birmingham’s £2.6 billion new superhospital gets underway today.
Patients from the existing Queen Elizabeth, off Metchley Road, Edgbaston, will be transported through a link bridge to new wards on the same site from today until Thursday.
It comes after the new 1,213-bed Queen Elizabeth Hospital(QE) opened in June.
A large-scale operation saw patients moved over from inpatient wards at Selly Oak Hospital, around a mile away, earlier in the year.
It also saw the launch of the new A&E in Edgbaston and the transfer of injured soldiers to a secure military ward.
The second phase will involve the specialised renal dialysis, physiotherapy and transplant departments move into the new building.
Gareth Duggan, spokesman for University Hospitals Birmingham, said: “Move two is in many ways more complex because so many of the patients are extremely ill, as they are awaiting or have just undergone an organ transplant.
“It will take place over three days until Thursday.”
The new hospital has experienced ‘teething problems’ since its grand opening including broken lifts, boiling hot water from showers and flooding in the basement.
Trust bosses said most large-scale projects suffered similar problems and were confident the hospital was running smoothly.
The move heralds the start of the end for the original QE building, which was officially opened on December 31 in 1938 by the Duke of Gloucester and his wife and cost just over £1million.
The hospital originally consisted of Vincent Medical Block, the Cadbury Surgical Block, Nuffield Nurses Home and Nuffield House.
There were just 740 patient beds and a further 100 for privately-paying patients.
There are several more phased moves to come in the coming year until the hospital is in full working order.
Selly Oak site will fully close by November next year when it could be sold off to make way for a housing development.
