Hospital care: Consort Healthcare has won preferred bidder status with Building Design Partnership working in conjunction with Nightingale Associates to design Birmingham's first new hospital for 70 years. The 1246-bed acute teaching hospital will be on the Queen Elizabeth site for the University Hospital Birmingham Trust. The project will be built under a construction joint venture comprising Balfour Beatty, Haden Young and AWG. The phased opening of the £521 million hospital is due to start in 2008/9.