Overview

• He unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the 736-bed Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick under the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.
• On an elderly care ward, he joked about growing older with 85-year-old patient Jacqueline Page, saying "the bits don’t work so well when you get past 70."
• Speaking with 73-year-old prostate cancer patient Matthew Shinda, he said he was "not too bad" and remarked that early detection is difficult but treatments continue to improve.
• He met the hospital’s first baby, Hernata Yonas, with parents Semhar Tesfu and Yonas Kflu, and greeted large crowds of staff, patients and volunteers.
• The trust serves roughly 750,000 people, and chairman Sir David Nicholson called it a "tremendous honour" to have the King mark the facility’s official opening.