NEWS A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF HEMEL HOSPITAL3 May 2022 NEW VISION FOR HEMEL AIMS TO BRING CARE CLOSER TO PEOPLE Action Group attacks Trust’s current plans as absurd A new report urges the NHS to revive Hemel Hempstead Hospital (HHH) and make it a vibrant integrated healthcare centre for Dacorum. The report ‘A Vision for the Future of Hemel Hempstead Hospital’ by the Dacorum Health Action Group (DHAG), says better diagnostic facilities and wards should be combined on the town-centre site with services to support healthier lifestyles and tackling preventable disease. Current proposals by the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for limited investment in “planned medical care” at HHH are described in the report as “absurd” and risking “a much less accessible overall health service provision for local patients”. In contrast, the Group’s ambitious Vision for HHH says that, whatever decision is taken on the site for a new emergency care hospital, the other hospitals in West Hertfordshire should ‘provide a wide range of integrated services for their local communities.’ The DHAG Vision for Hemel Hospital includes: Straightforward elective surgery, with orthopaedic outpatients facilities returning to HHH to serve the large elderly population; Rehabilitation wards of a high standard to take patients from the emergency care hospital to stop bed blocking, and give patients support and therapy to help them regain their independence; A day ward or Day centre to be run by well-trained senior nurses or District nurses; District nurses to be based at HHH to enable a further integration of services; An integrated centre for preventative services including stopping smoking, exercise groups to keep people mobile and prevent falls, exercise for cardiology patients, and weight loss. To read the full report click here and let us know your thoughts! Full media release can be read here... OUTSOURCED HEALTH SERVICES ARE NOT UP TO SCRATCH20 June 2021With more local health services being provided by private providers, DHAG commissioned a survey last February 2020 to find out how local residents rated these service providers and discover what issues patients faced getting to and during appointments. Previous to this survey being circulated, we had already sent a report to Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group, raising concerns we had after receiving several patient testimonials about the poor service they'd experienced. Further to this, DHAG have been unable to find how these service providers are being held accountable and what targets are in place to ensure the best service possible is received by Dacorum residents. The full survey report and findings can be read here however the key issues residents highlighted were; poor parking facilities, poor quality of consultation and poor communication. Many participants also took the opportunity to leave detailed (anonymous) comments about their experiences: 'very few parking spaces. Has to park in town centre car park and walk from there, having recently had a knee replacement' 'Felt my mother was rushed especially when she was told she could download her exercises online. Difficult when you don’t have a computer' 'The telephone number doesn’t seem to be monitored and repeated calls and long waits on the line seemed normal' DHAG are following up these findings and comments with HVCCG, as whilst our survey was small, there are areas for concern that must be addressed as soon as possible. We are calling on the HVCCG to undertake a larger, more comprehensive survey to provide better insight and improvements to these services. Dacorum Outsourcing Survey - FULL ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS... FUTURE OF MOUNT VERNON CANCER CENTRE IN DOUBT8 March 2021The future of a leading cancer treatment centre serving a population of two million in south east England is increasingly uncertain, as plans to share a site with Watford’s acute hospital run into serious practical obstacles. Contradictory statements from the NHS are causing confusion. Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC) in Northwood is one of the country’s top cancer hubs, with an international reputation for treatment, and it helps many thousands of patients annually. But years of neglect have left its buildings in a poor state and care is hampered by the need to move patients to other hospitals if their condition deteriorates. Recruitment is difficult. The answer is seen by clinicians and patients as a move to share a site with an acute hospital that can step in when needed to provide intensive care and other support. Watford General Hospital - one of the six flagship ‘new hospital’ sites under the HIP1 programme announced in 2019 - is emerging as the preferred route forward. Right area, wrong site Health campaigners in Hertfordshire’s New Hospital Campaign group (NHC) have warmly welcomed the idea of combining the site of an acute hospital for West Hertfordshire with a new Mount Vernon. That would leave MVCC geographically well-placed to serve the huge region it covers, extending from Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire to North London. However, the NHC believe that a combination of Mount Vernon with a new acute and emergency West Herts hospital on a clear central site for the area would be better than trying to refurbish and rebuild at Watford General, where buildings are ageing and unsuitable. Click here to read our full report... LATEST TRUST SURVEY COMES WITH A WARNING8 March 2021New Hospital Campaigners are asking residents in Dacorum and St. Albans to be wary of the latest survey issued by West Herts Hospital Trust. The leading questions are worded in a way that suggests to residents of both areas, that they are going to receive a significant investment to upgrade both Hemel and St. Albans City hospital. But the answers to these questions will be used to prop up the case for re-development at the Watford General site. A NHC representative commented "Everything is being sold to give a completely different impression. For example question 4 on the first page includes this statement: "Each of the three hospitals specialise in a specific healthcare area, allowing expert staff to work better together on one site, and allowing patients to access the best staff, technologies and treatments for their need". That sounds great but most people filling in the survey won't realise the crucial background about the funding intention because it is not being provided. People are being deceived. " The planned funding split is roughly 92% for Watford General and JUST 8% to be divided between St Albans and Hemel hospitals. This is something that is not mentioned on this survey and NHC want residents to know this before completing answers. The New Hospital Campaigners say that residents want that 92% of funding to go to a brand new 'state of the art A&E hospital, on a clear, central site in west Hertfordshire. THAT WOULD BE FAR BETTER FOR EVERYBODY, FINISHED SOONER AND BETTER VALUE FOR THE TAXPAYER After all, it's part of the national 'New Hospital Programme'. NHC are encouraging residents to complete the survey and tell the trust what you think, as well as your local MP and County Councillor candidates. We would also like to hear from concerned residents about your views and if you have any questions related to the funding of hospital re-development plans. You can get in touch by emailing: info@dhag.org Beware the WHHT Hard Sell!... NEW WEST HERTS HOSPITAL BUILDINGS BY 2025 – OR WILL IT BE 2030 ?1 March 2021Doubts grow over health Trust timetable claims Hospital campaigners have raised serious questions over claims made by the West Herts Hospital Trust that new hospital facilities at Watford General can be built by about 2025. The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) believes a new hospital should be built on a clear central site in west Hertfordshire, while the Trust insists on redeveloping the Watford site. The Campaign has now written to the newly-installed leader of the Government’s campaign to build 40 new hospitals nationally, pointing out serious errors in the Trust’s arguments for building at Watford, and calling on her to order an urgent investigation and review of the facts before irrevocable decisions are made. The Trust’s argument for building at Watford rather than on a new clear site rests mainly on an estimate in a Site Feasibility Study (SFS) produced by Royal Free Property Services - a close corporate partner of the West Herts Trust - that claimed that new facilities could be provided at Watford by 2025 or 2026, to meet a government-imposed deadline. A detailed review by Mike Naxton, an independent construction planning specialist, has cast doubt on the SFS estimate, saying that work under the Trust’s plans would probably continue until 2030. A new hospital on a clear site could, according to Mr Naxton, be built more rapidly. The Trust has not challenged the facts of the Naxton review. For our full response and analysis, please click here to read the full article... COUNCIL SCRUTINY OF HOSPITAL PLANS DUBBED A ‘FARCE’1 March 2021The New Hospital Campaign (NHC), which is fighting for a new A+E hospital on a clear, central site in west Hertfordshire, has branded a Hertfordshire County Council scrutiny meeting a “farce” and “grotesquely unbalanced”. The meeting, which was held to scrutinise the West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust’s plans to renovate Watford General Hospital and make minor improvements at St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead hospitals, was called a ‘topic group’ of the County’s health scrutiny committee. It was held on 8 February. The group supported the Trust’s plans though one councillor disagreed. The NHC had asked to make a presentation at the meeting but received no reply to their request. Altogether the Trust and other local health bodies were allowed to dominate the all-day proceedings with 15 minutes at the start allocated to ‘public witnesses’. This is despite the fact that an online survey run by the Trust last September showed that a large majority of the 3000 plus respondents disagreed with the plans, and that there have been two petitions on the parliamentary website, each recording more than 10,000 residents demanding a hospital on a new, accessible site. A spokesperson for the Group called the meeting “a farce and grotesquely unbalanced”, adding that it reached “truly bizarre conclusions, including that the Trust’s plans did not amount to ‘substantial development of service requiring formal consultation with the Committee’, even though it involved the expenditure of hundreds of millions of pounds with implications over many decades to come”. You can read the full press release on this meeting here. We are keen to hear from our supporters about their views or if they are able to help our campaign. Please get in touch by emailing info@dhag.org.uk... FIGHT FOR NEW HOSPITAL GOES ON DESPITE JUDGE’S RULING6 January 2021Legal challenge only dealt with issues of procedure The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) will continue the battle to secure a new A+E hospital in west Hertfordshire despite a High Court judge having ruled that the local health bodies acted lawfully by refusing a public consultation on their plans in 2019. Nonetheless, the High Court did acknowledge that the NHC was not given access to the full calculations and projections used to estimate the cost of the new build options, and recognised that NHC’s contribution to the debate about the rejection of those options could have been more fully informed than it was, had the NHC and others been given that information or if our requests for meetings with the local health bodies had been granted. Regrettably, the High Court concluded that the legal duty was simply to “involve” the public, and not formally consult them, so such deficiencies did not amount to legal errors. However, the High Court remarked that the 2019 decisions were not set in stone and the financial position may have altered since then. It further repeated the principle of public importance that decision makers arrive at decisions lawfully and are held to account by the court if they do not, which of course applies to any future decisions made about hospital redevelopment plans. A NHC spokesperson said “Of course we are surprised and disappointed by the judge’s decision but it’s vital to understand this was not about whether it is better to keep patching up the current Vicarage Road site in Watford or to go for a central, clear site for a new hospital fit for the coming decades. It was purely about the process used to reach two decisions that were made a year and a half ago. The processes used by the local health bodies in the next decision stage in 2020 have been even more deficient but they could not feature in the legal case”. “There has not been a full public consultation about hospital redevelopment in our area since 2007. We need one now, and it must include new site options. A substantial majority of the respondents to the Trust’s online survey last September disagreed with the proposed short list which excluded all new site options. Building on the existing site will involve years of disruption just when we are trying to recover from the pandemic. A solution based on a clear site in a central, accessible location would be so much quicker and safer as well as providing much greater flexibility for the future”. You can read our full press release here. We would like to say thank you once again to all our supporters who so kindly donated to our crowdfunding campaign online and in person, to help fund this legal case. Also our thanks goes to all those who helped to share the news far and wide to get our voices heard. We will continue to fight for the best interests of ALL residents in West Hertfordshire for better hospital provision fit for the 21st Century.... INDEPENDENT REPORT SAVAGES WATFORD HOSPITAL RE-BUILD PLANS14 December 2020Current Case for Re-building Watford Would Take Longer Than Claimed An independent expert report published today aims severe criticism at the plans of the West Herts Trust for the future of the area’s hospitals. Major projects specialist Mike Naxton shows that trying to improve the situation at the cramped Vicarage Road site in Watford – the option favoured by the Trust – could take much longer than building a new hospital on a fresh central site. This new evidence is crucial to the future of the area’s hospitals, because the West Herts Trust (WHHT) has denied calls for a proper appraisal of all options, arguing that a new hospital on a convenient new site would take longer than patching-up at Vicarage Road. The Naxton Report concludes: "In my experience it is rare for redevelopment projects such as proposed at Watford to complete near to time, due to not understanding all the unknowns, even with the most competent design and construction teams. The pressures to meet the HIP1 funding timeframe seem to have led to the production of programmes that may be optimistic, based upon working at risk but do not include all critical activities that can be identified at this stage. The same level of complexity of unknowns and risks would not apply to construction on a Greenfield site that in contrast would allow greater opportunities for more efficient design and construction methodology - resulting in programme certainty. Campaigners believe the Report proves that a new hospital on a clear, convenient central site would provide better value for money and speedier delivery of new hospital facilities than the ‘desperate and dysfunctional’ Vicarage Road options favoured by the Trust. WHHT’s existing plans offer ‘very poor value for money and many more years of unpleasant working conditions and high maintenance costs.’ Mr Naxton’s report, commissioned by the New Hospital Campaign, uses advanced software to assess the options and concludes that a new emergency care hospital on a new site could be built up to three years quicker than the Trust’s favoured option of a mixture of demolition, refurbishment and some new build at Watford General. The Report shows that the Trust’s statements have systematically exaggerated the time it would take to build a new hospital on a new site – while unrealistically minimising the time it would take to carry out its plans for Vicarage Road. The full media release can be read here and the report viewed here... JUDICIAL REVIEW WATCHED ONLINE BY SCORES OF CAMPAIGN SUPPORTERS29 October 2020Scores of West Herts residents watched online as a High Court case about the future of the area’s hospitals, brought by the New Hospital Campaign (NHC), went ahead this week. Campaigners for a new hospital were amazed and heartened by the public interest in the judicial review case, in which they urge the West Herts Trust to carry out a proper consultation on its plans. In just 24 hours more than 80 people requested access through the NHC to proceedings in the virtual courtroom. The NHC’s barrister David Wolfe QC, supported by solicitors from Leigh Day, put forward our arguments that that the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG) failed to consult the public properly before deciding to eliminate the option of a new hospital option in 2019. In the same year, the campaigners say that the HVCCG wrongly concluded that it did not need to have a formal public consultation about its own preferred option – involving disruptive demolition, refurbishment and some new build on the crumbling and part-polluted Watford site. The Campaign wants the health bodies to conduct a full consultation so that a fair choice of sites can be offered to the public. The result of the judicial review case in the High Court before Mr Justice Kerr will be announced in a few weeks. Jean Ritchie of the NHC said: ‘Once again so many people in West Hertfordshire have shown that they want a new modern hospital on a clear and accessible central site. It is still a complete mystery why the HVCCG and the West Herts Hospitals Trust are so insistent on this short-sighted approach. ‘All the evidence suggests that few people support the idea of redeveloping Watford General. The Trust published an opinion survey which contained some misleading and biased questions to help their case. Despite this bias, the survey results were clear – a substantial majority of respondents disagreed with the preferred option of trying to improve Watford General’. Supporters of the fundraiser for the Judicial Review now face a wait of weeks or possibly months for the final outcome. From everyone at New Hospital Campaign, thank you once again for all your support to bring this case to the court and continue the fight for the hospital West Herts needs.... NEW HOSPITAL CAMPAIGNERS ATTACK RUSHED AND FLAWED DECISION2 October 2020Patient safety concerns take second place to obsession with Watford Hospital Hospital campaigners, including DHAG have criticised local health bodies who yesterday (1st October, 2020) decided to ignore the case for a new convenient central modern hospital to serve everyone in West Hertfordshire. The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) described the decision to spend over half a billion pounds on refurbishment and new build at Vicarage Road Watford as rushed and based on flawed, shaky and often misleading evidence. Flying in the face of expert analysis and their own massaged survey which revealed public and NHS staff disquiet about their plans, West Herts Hospital Trust (WHHT) and Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG) today produced a shortlist including SIX Watford options and none for anywhere else in West Herts. Key to the decision was timing – the Government wants a new hospital in West Herts by 2025 or 2026. Meeting jointly, the two health bodies claimed on flimsy evidence that new central greenfield sites would take much longer to build on than new facilities at Watford. A spokesperson for New Hospital Campaign commented on this point: 'Yet a report led by West Herts’ own partner Trust, the Royal Free, showed that a new greenfield hospital could be built just as quickly. All the timings were close to each other. ' Once again, the views and needs of local residents have been ignored and this decision will come back to haunt those that made it. The full press released from New Hospital Campaign can be read here .... TRUST’S SURVEY ‘WIDE OPEN TO MANIPULATION’ SAY CAMPAIGNERS23 September 2020West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) finally produced a public survey in September asking local residents to give their views on hospital services. The survey was rushed out and unfairly favoured development at the Vicarage Road site of Watford General Hospital. It was inaccurate in relation to the review of other sites that the Trust had previously commissioned. The New Hospital Campaign noted the following flaws along with others: The survey fails to provide the public with genuine options - it was published the same day as the draft shortlist which only includes Vicarage Road options; Was hastily put on the Trust website and gave respondents just 11 days to complete it; It was wide open to manipulation because the online form can be filled in multiple times by the same person at the same computer; It contained leading questions encouraging the public to support options at Vicarage Road Furthermore, the CEO of WHHT urged readers in the Watford Observer to complete the survey but her letter did not appear in equivalent newspapers covering Dacorum and St. Albans District. Twice before we have had petitions reaching over 10,000 signatures for a new hospital on a clear central site and there are many active groups online that share the same view. But the Trust and Herts Valleys CCG have consistently side-lined it. In summary, the data collected from this survey should not be presented as an accurate representation of public opinion. Click here for the full press release Click here for the NHC paper on '9 Major Flaws'... CAMPAIGNERS CAST DOUBT ON FUTURE HOSPITAL SITE SURVEY8 September 2020Campaigners for a new hospital have raised serious doubts about a review of possible sites for hospital redevelopment in West Herts. The review, called a Site Feasibility Study, has been commissioned by the West Herts Hospital Trust (WHHT) and is being used in the selection of a shortlist of sites for the project, due to be decided on 1 October. However, the New Hospital Campaign (a joint campaign between DHAG, Berkhamsted and St. Albans Campaigners) are concerned that the study is led by a company wholly owned by Royal Free London Trust, which has a close and increasing working relationship with West Herts Trust. Therefore, campaigners are concerned that this is not an independent study at all and is weighted in favour of the trust and not local residents. For example, a study of one site at Watford General is rated as highly suitable for re-development, despite there being a large sewer that runs underneath the site and notes that suggest there is a likely risk of contamination once work starts. This example and others are good reasons why a new build on a clear central site would be far better value for money for local residents. The trust believe that re-development could be completed by 2025, but NHC's buildings expert team think this is unrealistic compared with the option of a new hospital on a clear site. The full study commissioned by WHHT can be read at the link below, followed by a link to our technical appraisal of the study by a very experienced construction specialist, questions about the independence of the study and our full press release. We asking members of the public who would be interested and can be involved in fighting against these decisions that we believe are not in the public interest, to please get in touch via the Contact Us form with any information you may have. Full Feasibility Study NHC Technical Appraisal NHC Questions on Independence of Study NHC Full Press Release... CAMPAIGNERS CAST DOUBT ON FUTURE HOSPITAL SITE REVIEW7 September 2020Campaigners for a new hospital have raised serious doubts about a review of possible sites for hospital redevelopment in West Herts. The review, called a Site Feasibility Study, has been commissioned by the West Herts Hospital Trust (WHHT) and is being used in the selection of a shortlist of sites for the project, due to be decided on 1 October. However, the New Hospital Campaign (a joint campaign between DHAG, Berkhamsted and St. Albans Campaigners) are concerned that the study is led by a company wholly owned by Royal Free London Trust, which has a close and increasing working relationship with West Herts Trust. Therefore, campaigners are concerned that this is not an independent study at all and is weighted in favour of the trust and not local residents. For example, a study of one site at Watford General is rated as highly suitable for re-development, despite there being a large sewer that runs underneath the site and notes that suggest there is a likely risk of contamination once work starts. This example and others are good reasons why a new build on a clear central site would be far better value for money for local residents. The trust believe that re-development could be completed by 2025, but NHC's buildings expert team think this is unrealistic compared with the option of a new hospital on a clear site. The full study commissioned by WHHT can be read at the link below, followed by a link to our technical appraisal of the study by a very experienced construction specialist, questions about the independence of the study and our full press release. We asking members of the public who would be interested and can be involved in fighting against these decisions that we believe are not in the public interest, to please get in touch via the Contact Us form with any information you may have. Full Feasibility Study NHC Technical Appraisal NHC Questions on Independence of Study NHC Full Press Release ... FIGHT FOR THE TRUTH CONTINUES AS TRUST’S ENGAGEMENT BRANDED A FARCE29 July 2020The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) has succeeded in obtaining a crucial letter about hospital redevelopment in West Herts which the West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT) has received from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The letter has been referred to at recent stakeholder meetings which the public have been invited to, however this letter has never been produced until it was disclosed to NHC's solicitors as part of the ongoing judicial review. The letter seems to instruct West Herts Hospital Trust to only present 3 options to be considered for much needed hospital investment, all of which focus on Watford being the main site for A&E. This despite 2 petitions signed by tens of thousands of residents saying they want a new hospital built on a more accessible site. The full press release from NHC can be read below along with the damning letter in full from the Department of Health and Social Care. NHC Press Release 29.07.2020 Letter to WHHT from Department of Health RE: Watford Hospital... WHY WE NEED A NEW A+E HOSPITAL TO SHIELD US FROM FURTHER VIRUS OUTBREAKS11 June 2020With the high number of deaths in hospitals from COVID-19 we must prepare for likely further virus outbreaks and put a high priority on effective infection control. New Hospital Campaign (NHC) member Jean Ritchie has looked at the research about how the provision of single rooms promotes this. She quotes one study as concluding “Single room isolation facilities are essential in acute hospitals and will become increasingly important as highly transmissible and increasingly resistant organisms colonise and infect patients”. A leading expert says “There is a consensus view in Europe and North America that single rooms in hospitals are important in preventing and controlling healthcare associated infections”. From her review Jean says single rooms not only eliminate the risk of cross-infection but also, by putting sinks near the entrance to the room, underline the importance of hand-washing for all staff “which is not easy on a ward where washing facilities are shared”. We can only have enough single rooms in a newly built hospital on a clear site, not an old one where only around half of the estate is to be renovated as the West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT) has proposed. So far the WHHT have made no provision at all in their redevelopment plans for more single rooms. Building anew will save lives. This is one of the reasons why members of the NHC have congratulated the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT) in Harlow, Essex, just 30 miles away and in the same planning area as West Herts, on reportedly being given a conditional offer of £600million to build a brand new hospital on a clear site, which is their preferred way forward. Like the West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT), the PAHT were one of the first six trusts that the prime minister announced last September would get funding to build a new hospital. But as mentioned above the WHHT’s plan so far has not been to build a new hospital at all, only to redevelop parts of the decaying and inaccessible Watford General Hospital. WHHT, which covers a much larger population than PAHT and has a substantially larger annual turnover, hasn't told us if it has received a similar or higher conditional offer - and if not, why they think no such offer has been made. The NHC believes only a new hospital on a clear, central site can safely meet the emergency and specialist health needs of the West Herts population in the years to come, and WHHT must give this option full and fair consideration, which hasn’t happened up to now. After the experience of COVID-19 we cannot afford to get this investment in our futures wrong – lives will depend on it. Editor’s Note: Jean Ritchie’s article about single rooms is attached separately. For details of the offer to the Princess Alexandra Trust, see here.... THE CASE FOR SINGLE HOSPITAL ROOMS IN INFECTION CONTROL11 June 2020With the assumption that the NHS will face further virus outbreaks, perhaps not as severe as COVID-19 but nonetheless a severe strain on resources, the need for effective infection control within hospitals should be a major priority in the future redevelopment or building of new hospitals. A study of the impact on infections of the move from an old hospital to a new building, with a high proportion of single rooms (Brunel Building, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol Hospital Trust), published in 2017, showed that the number of bed days lost to norovirus was “significantly lower. Increased availability of single rooms had an impact on the transmission of highly contagious norovirus infection, dispersed via the airborne route.” The study concluded: “Single room isolation facilities are essential in acute hospitals and will become increasingly important as highly transmissible and increasingly resistant organisms colonise and infect patients…. There was a significant reduction in the bed-days lost and ward closures due to norovirus infection.” (i) An earlier study by King’s College, London, was carried out into single rooms at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury, Kent (opened in 2011). The hospital was the first in England to contain only single-bed rooms, and replaced a Victorian hospital and former workhouse. The researchers examined the experience of patients and staff both before and after the move. They looked at an admissions ward, a surgical ward, an older people’s ward and a post-natal ward. Patients reported more privacy, dignity and confidentiality in single rooms. They felt the privacy enabled them to disclose to medical staff and relatives more sensitive information. They slept better and no longer had the indignity of using toilets within the earshot of others. The downside was that immediately after the move to the new hospital, there was an increased incidence of older patients falling. But within nine months this had been remedied, as nursing staff became more familiar with the new routines of working with single rooms, and as the disturbance of the move for older patients had receded. Two thirds of all patients preferred single rooms, with older patients (over 80) being the ones who most preferred to be in wards with other patients. (ii) Another advantage of single rooms was highlighted by Professor Hugh Pennington, a leading microbiologist based at Aberdeen University, and a firm advocate of the single bed system. “There is a consensus view in Europe and North America that single rooms in hospitals are important in preventing and controlling healthcare associated infections……..Single rooms facilitate family involvement in patient care and increase the opportunities for treatment at the bedside. They enable better bed management, abolish gender bed blocking (when a patient cannot be admitted to an empty bed because the others in the shared accommodation are of the opposite sex) and lead to fewer patient transfers. “…..The evidence that physical barriers are good at preventing the spread of microbes is strong. A recent study in Canada on the effect of changing intensive care unit arrangements from multibed to single rooms showed falls in rates of acquisition of clostridium difficile of 43% and staphylococcus aureus of 47%.” These reduced infection rates resulted in a 10% reduction in the length of time patients needed to stay in hospital. (iii) Professor Pennington’s views were echoed in an article in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, which concluded: “Single bed occupancy reduces air-borne as well as cross-transmission of pathogens between patients…..Scientific evidence should lead to an increase in the number of single rooms in hospitals in such numbers that all contagious patients can benefit.” (iv) Research has mainly concentrated on nosocomial infections (hospital-acquired infections like MRSA and C-diff), as well as hospital-acquired influenza (HAI). A 2016 European study compared double-occupancy rooms (not common in Britain) with single rooms, and concluded: ‘We observed higher HAI risk among patients hospitalised in double-occupancy rooms than those in single-occupancy rooms. In addition to being more appropriate for global patient care regarding privacy, rest, familial support, cost and confidentiality, single occupancy rooms are reducing the risk of hospital-acquired infections, including influenza.” (v) The design of single bed rooms not only eliminates the risk of cross-infection between patients, but also, with the provision of sinks near the entrance to the room, underlines the need for scrupulous handwashing by all staff (which we have all learned during the pandemic is a key to controlling infection), which is not easy on a ward where washing facilities are shared. Rooms are designed for diagnostic equipment to be brought to the patient (portable X-Ray machines etc.), which again reduces contact with other patients and even staff members. The firm of architects which designed the rooms at the Pembury Hospital, Anshen and Allen, listed the design criteria they worked to: Bed head placed in direct sight line from door with large vision panels Clinical basin at entrance Staff zone kept at entrance with bed-head unit on clinical side Naturally ventilated rooms Bed head on same side as en-suite door to reduce risk of falls En-suite door design to allow ease of manoeuvring and access. (vi) One of the initial objections to single rooms came from nursing staff, who had to walk further to monitor patients. But modern designs have eliminated this problem, and single rooms have actually increased the nurse-patient contact time. (i) Impact of moving to a new hospital build, with a high proportion of single rooms, on health-care associated infections and outbreaks. E.S.R. Darley et al. Journal of Hospital Infection June 2017 (ii) The Impact of moving to Single Room Accommodation King’s College 2013 One size fits all? Mixed methods evaluation of the impact of 100% single-room accommodation on staff and patient experience, safety and costs. BMJ. Maben et al 2015 Single Rooms and patient safety: before and after study with non-equivalent controls. NCBI Bookshelf. Maben et al (iii)Should hospitals provide all patients with single rooms? BMJ 2013 Professor Hugh Pennington (iv) Should we provide acute care in single room occupancy Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection 2016 Philippe Brouqui (v) Hospitalisation in double-occupancy rooms and the risk of hospital-acquired influenza: a prospective cohort study 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases E. Munier-Marion et al (vi) New Pembury Hospital, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom 2011 EDAC Advocate Firm Project Author: Jean Ritchie, NHC member. June 2020.... TRUST BOARD TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY SPRING 20206 June 2020Some comparisons This note compares the current practice of a number of NHS trusts in relation to transparency and accountability.*¹ It looks first at the situation in six trusts given the go- ahead in September 2019 to build or refurbish major hospital facilities – the HIP 1 trusts. These bodies, which include West Herts, are currently making important decisions on how to spend very large sums of public money within a few years. The note then goes on to summarise the situation in some other NHS trusts in Hertfordshire and nearby counties. The meetings of NHS Trusts are governed by the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, which gives trusts and other bodies wide discretion. The Act says that ‘any meeting of a local authority or other body exercising public functions … shall be open to the public.’ But the Act also says that a public body can resolve to ‘exclude the public from a meeting (whether during the whole or part of the proceedings) whenever publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted or for other special reasons stated in the resolution and arising from the nature of that business or of the proceedings’ . There is a wide variety of practice in the current situation, but some trusts, having held meetings in private at the beginning of the COVID crisis, are now opening up. This is the case with Barts Trust (whose Whipps Cross site was one of the ‘September six’ projects like West Herts.). The trust cancelled its 6 May board meeting ‘following guidance from Public Health England on social distancing’. But its 5 June board meeting is to be held virtually via videoconferencing. Joining instructions are included on the website for the general public. Other ‘September Six’ trusts have held virtual meetings or at least provided board papers online in advance to the public. Leicester trust held a meeting in public on 6 May, Epsom and St Helier Trust held its virtual 1 May meeting in public, and Princess Alexandra, Harlow will hold its 4 June board meeting in public via Microsoft Teams. Leeds’ 21 May board meeting was not open to the public, but papers were made available on the website. So West Herts is alone among the HIP 1 trusts in holding no board meetings in public since the pandemic began and providing no information to the general public on its website about the current proceedings of its board. On the other hand, one member of the public who recently contacted the trust to ask about topics being discussed at West Herts board meetings was sent the agendas for the meetings held in April, May and June 2020. *¹ The information set out here was provided on trust websites accessed on 31 May 2020. Accountability and transparency practice also vary in other trusts close to West Herts. For example the following trusts in neighbouring counties are either allowing full or partial public access to virtual meetings or making available recordings of meetings held during the pandemic: East London Milton Keynes Mid and South Essex London North West University Hospitals East of England Ambulance Service Trust Hillingdon Hospitals Trust Royal Berkshire, Reading Oxford University Hospitals Trust Luton and Dunstable Hospital (now Bedfordshire Hospitals Foundation Trust) continues to put full current board papers on its website. Other trusts in the area are currently less forthcoming with information about their Board’s activities, although they do make statements of intent to provide some material. East and North Herts Trust website says that ‘In line with the national guidance, we will not be holding meetings in public during this time .’ However, the Trust says it "will endeavour to publish the Integrated Performance Report on our website during this period", although it was not possible to locate the Report on the website on 31 May. Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, have stopped board meetings in public, citing ‘current government guidance regarding social distancing’. The trust website says that; "board papers are being published, but current papers were not available on the site on 31 May 2020." THIS ARTICLE CAN BE DOWNLOADED IN PDF FORMAT HERE.... DHAG SURVEY LAUNCHED12 February 2020We’re asking residents to provide feedback on their satisfaction regarding new health care services which are now being manged by private contractors. The services covered in this survey are: Dermatology Physiotherapy / Muscular-Skeletal Ultrasound Ophthalmology Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) As well as understanding how these services are performing according, this is an opportunity for people to have their say. Click here to participate UPDATE - 19th February 2020 Hemel Today features an article on the DHAG survey. Click here to read!... WATFORD HOSPITAL LOW FOOD HYGIENE RATING30 January 2020Watford General Hospital was given a shockingly low score of 1 out of 5 at a recent environmental health inspection of it’s catering facilities. Considering that the hospital is feeding very vulnerable people it is particularly disturbing and could be putting patients particularly at risk. We should expect hospitals, Care Homes and schools to get a rating of 5. This is not acceptable. Many eating places routinely achieve a 5 rating. The report dates back to November and is available here. A business can be given one of these hygiene ratings: urgent improvement is required major improvement is necessary some improvement is necessary hygiene standards are generally satisfactory hygiene standards are good hygiene standards are very good UPDATE - Here's an article published in the Hemel Gazette & Express dated 5th February 2020.... WE’VE MADE IT!25 November 2019NEW HOSPITAL CAMPAIGN REACHES TARGET OF FUNDS NEEDED FOR LEGAL ACTION The NHC are proud to announce that we have succeeded in raising the £20,000 we need to mount a judicial review against the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG). A High Court judge will now review the HVCCG’s decision not to hold a full public consultation on their and the West Herts Hospitals Trust’s proposals for the long-term development of the hospital estate. They have planned to retain A+E services at Watford General, patching up less than half the dilapidated and crumbling estate there, spending a minimal amount on St. Albans City Hospital and turning Hemel Hempstead Hospital into a medical centre. Edie Glatter of the NHC said: “We would like to thank the local community for their huge support and generosity and everyone who has helped to spread the word. You have made it possible for us to reach yet another milestone, following the boost we got a few weeks ago when a judge granted us permission to bring the case, which is only given to about one in five claims, and he also set a cap on our possible costs. It is essential that the local health bodies now run a full and fair consultation including taking a serious look at building a new hospital on a clear site that everyone in West Hertfordshire can get to. It is the only way our local hospital provision can be transformed as it truly needs to be because it is in far worse condition than that of most other areas”. The NHC and our brilliant team of lawyers at Leigh Day and Co together with barristers David Wolfe and Emma Foubister from the Matrix Chambers are now waiting for the date of the full hearing. This will depend on how busy the High Court is and it may be some months away, though we will be given several weeks’ notice to allow time to prepare documents and submit them by set deadlines ahead of the hearing.... SECOND FUND RAISING RAISES £81819 November 2019Smiling faces after we'd totted up the incredible £818 we raised on Saturday counting the coins in the Metro's magic money machine. Thanks to the generosity of people shopping in the Marlowes Centre and outside it has raised our total overall to £17,610 leaving us with only £2,390 to reach our target. Thanks to everyone who helped standing out in the cold and inside, to the Marlowes Centre who made us welcome providing us with table and chair, to Dolly for delighting the children with her clever glitter tattoos.... SIR MIKE PENNING SPEAKS UP25 October 201923rd October 2019 and Hemel Hempstead MP, Sir Mike Penning talks for thousands of constituents at the House of Commons...... MP BACKS HOSPITAL LEGAL CHALLENGE14 October 2019Sir Mike Penning, Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead, met with members of the Dacorum Hospital Action Group and the New Hospital Campaign to give his support for their legal battle with the West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust. Following their successful day in Marlowes on Saturday, Sir Mike presented a cheque for another £500 towards the campaign. Campaigners are raising money to fund a judicial review of the Trust’s decision to exclude the new hospital on a new site option as one of the multiple options to be considered. Sir Mike said: “I absolutely support this legal challenge. The Trust was asked to provide a number of options and specifically excluded the new site option despite it being widely supported in the community and proven to be the best option by the New Hospital Campaign.” I would urgently encourage local people to get behind this campaign and give the hospital campaigners full support.... FUND RAISING 12th OCTOBER 201913 October 2019Part of the team in Hemel Hempstead town centre this 'damp' October day. With a daunting task ahead of them, New Hospital Campaign volunteers braved the British October weather, asking for residents' support to raise the £20,000 required to launch the now approved judicial review. Councillor Jan Maddern explains; "Weather-wise it's been an awful day but so many Hemel Hempstead residents have been so supportive and generous, that I could have sworn I saw the sun!" Pictured above with five young people, Jan said that it was very reassuring how people from all age groups and backgrounds were keen to donate to our cause. Look at those smiley happy people! With Jan accompanied by Councillor Alexander Bhinder (behind the camera most of the time) and councillors like John Birnie (pictured left) turning up specifically to donate, there was an obvious, well, 'councillor' presence during the course of the day. Is that a cheque you're writing, John?!?!? Nash Mills Parish Councillor Alan Briggs, explains that if we all donated just one pound, we'd reach our target in no time. At the end of the day, the group took their collections into the Metro Bank to change heavy coins into notes. Counting up while they were there, the final figure raised on the day was found to be a staggering £588. On behalf of the New Hospital Campaign, Edie would like to give a big and warm THANK YOU to everyone who donated today. "We weren't too sure what to expect , especially with the weather but the results say it all. I'm therefore pleased to announce that today's fund raising effort will be the first of several over the next few months." explains Edie. Ron Glatter said "People took leaflets and it was quite apparent later on in the day that many who didn't have any change on them at the time, donated on our crowd funding site, when they got home." The total amount raised so far (12th October 2019) is £5,740 which is means that we now have more than a quarter of our £20,000 target. THANK YOU ... LEGAL CHALLENGE APPLICATION SUCCESS11 October 2019SO NOW WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT RAISING FUNDS The NHC’s legal challenge to the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG) to consider a new A+E hospital on a clear central site in west Hertfordshire has reached a major milestone. This week a High Court judge approved the NHC’s application for judicial review, so it can now go forward for a full hearing. It means there is a case to answer. We are appealing to local residents, businesses and other organisations to support the campaign to help fund the legal case. A low costs cap has been agreed by the court because it is judged to be a matter of public interest and we have a very favourable arrangement in place with our legal team. We still require to meet our target of £20,000 of which supporters have so far generously donated around a quarter. Donations can be made, anonymously if you wish, via our crowdfunding site here, or direct to our dedicated bank account: The NHC, which is a non-political group, claims the new hospital option was dismissed as unaffordable without properly considering the evidence or holding a full public consultation as HVCCG and the West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT) were required to do. It also asserts that the health bodies decided on their preferred option without holding the required public consultation. Their plan involves renewing less than half of the dilapidated buildings and infrastructure at Watford leaving much of the rest classified as not fit for purpose. Very little investment would be made at St. Albans, and Hemel Hempstead would be reduced to a single block for medical support enabling the rest of the estate to be sold off for housing development. Other hospital redevelopment schemes for which similar funding has also recently been promised, such as Princess Alexandra in Harlow and St. Helier Hospital in Surrey are including new hospital options in public consultation processes. The hospital in Vicarage Road Watford is in a dire state with much of the estate at end of life. There is major population growth projected including one of only five ‘garden towns’ in the whole country in the area around Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans. Edie Glatter of the NHC said “We effectively have a once and for all opportunity to secure the new state-of-the-art accessible hospital that we so desperately need. The alternative would mean that we will leave a legacy of poor hospital healthcare facilities for years to come. The decision to keep the dysfunctional Watford Hospital estate will not be reversed in the foreseeable future if the best part of £400 million is spent on it this time round. Please make a donation and support our legal challenge”.... REVAMP IS A WASTE OF RESOURCES9 October 2019CAMPAIGNERS SAY TO PM "REVAMPING WATFORD HOSPITAL WILL NEVER PRODUCE WORLD CLASS FACILITIES" Hospital campaigners are shocked that Boris Johnson has come out in favour of the plans to spend almost £400 million on refurbishing Watford General Hospital. The Prime Minister toured the hospital on Monday 7th October 2019, and announced that he was backing the Trust’s plans to, in their words, ‘maximise investment in Watford." "He has clearly been briefed by the Trust, and by the Watford MP Richard Harrington, who he describes as an old friend." said Edie Glatter of the New Hospital Campaign. Edie continues, "Why hasn’t he spoken to the other MPs whose constituencies come under the Trust? I’m sure Mike Penning would be happy to talk to him, and his views would be entirely different to Richard Harrington’s. It is shameful that, once again, pouring money into the decrepit and dysfunctional buildings at Watford is offered as the only solution." Mr Johnson said the investment in Watford would result in "world class facilities". But work by building consultant Bob Scott has clearly demonstrated that even with the extra £50 million now being pledged to the Trust, the plans that have been drawn up by the Trust for Watford are not workable, and will cost far more than the amount allocated. The hospital facilities are, and will remain, a very long way from ‘world class.’ "It seems the Prime Minister has only listened to one side: he has not had the chance to take note of the massive opposition to the Watford scheme across the rest of the Trust area." "There needs to be fresh thinking, public consultation, and a new hospital on a central, accessible site needs to go back on the table." Edie said. Surely the Prime Minister wouldn’t want to condemn the people of West Herts to sub-standard, inaccessible hospital provision for generations to come while at the same time approving the plans of the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Harlow to use their funding to build a brand new state-of-the-art hospital, and to consult fully with local residents about it? "NHS England has made it clear, in a document issued last year, that where large capital sums are involved, public consultation must take place, and that is what they are doing in Harlow." Edie said. "The number of patients in the Harlow Trust is less than in our Trust, and they do not face the difficult journeys many of us have to make to get to our only A and E Hospitals. Yet they have recognised the common sense solution: don’t pour good money after bad into old buildings that can never come up to modern standards. Start again, build something fit for purpose that will be far better value for money, will cost far less to run, and will result in massively improved healthcare for the whole population. This is what should be happening in West Herts. It is sad that the Prime Minister is unaware of the great opportunity to build a state-of-the-art hospital in an accessible location." ... TOP EXPERT BLASTS HOSPITAL PLANS30 September 2019Plans for new hospital provision in west Hertfordshire, which are the subject of a legal challenge by the NHC, have been comprehensively attacked by a highly experienced construction expert, Robert Scott. He has studied the proposals by the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG) and the West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) to rebuild a few of the decrepit and unsafe buildings at Watford General Hospital, do very little work at St. Albans City Hospital and leave Hemel Hempstead as a hospital in name only. HVCCG and WHHT argue they faced a funding limit of £350 million from central government and this is the best solution within that cap. However Mr. Scott concludes his 35 page report for the NHC by stating that there is no prospect of constructing a credible redevelopment or new build plan within that limit. He says that the whole feasibility of the plans are “unproven and the subject of major doubt”. He states that the assumptions made about costs have many flaws and concludes that the cost impact of the selected option is much greater than building a new hospital on a clear central site, so the latter option should now be re-evaluated. He argues that the search for alternative sites was “terminated prematurely” and should now be started up again. He estimates that the chosen option would cost far more than the stated £350 million limit - £530 million for not even solving half the problems on the Vicarage Road site. A single site new build could be constructed for a broadly similar figure but savings could be made to the cost which would not be possible via redevelopment because “it is not possible to establish the hidden conditions of the buildings to be demolished… until they are vacated” nor can decontamination needs be established. Also Mr. Scott considers the estimated time to finish the planned redevelopment – less than three years – is unrealistic. He says it would probably take double this time with cost implications, and that it would certainly take longer than a complete new build. Mr. Scott has compared the costs of several new build hospital projects around the country and concludes that they tend to be at least 40% lower than those estimated for a new build hospital in west Hertfordshire, so a much smaller figure than has been calculated would be achievable. It also needs to be considered, says Mr. Scott, that “new buildings can be expected to be virtually maintenance free for 7 to 10 years” whereas partly redeveloped existing estates will keep needing attention “through numerous failures and breakdowns”. There would also be a negative impact on staff recruitment and retention because of “the poor environment and disruption during the works” that of course would not apply to a new build, which would also attract more revenue because of higher bookings for elective surgery and treatment. Mr. Scott says his overall verdict is that “there is no credible basis to have excluded the Clear Site New Build options and no case for continuing to pursue the proposed redevelopment of the Watford estate”. The report can be read in full by clicking here Robert Scott has had many years’ experience at a senior level in major construction companies including several NHS projects and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building. The NHC believes the NHS must take the implications of this thorough and meticulous analysis very seriously and urgently institute a change of course. As reported previously the NHC has launched a legal challenge by judicial review against HVCCG for not carrying out the required public consultation before excluding the new hospital options, and also before choosing their preferred option. There is a target of £20,000 to fund the legal action and we urge the public to support this via https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/new-hospital-campaign or direct to our bank account: NOTE: The plans referred to are known as a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) which was approved by the HVCCG and WHHT boards on 11 July and has now been submitted to NHS regulators for consideration.... APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW27 September 2019After years of residents' concerns regarding Hospital plans in West Hertfordshire falling on deaf ears, it's time for hard action. DHAG has specifically set up the New Hospital Campaign (NHC) to fight for a single hospital in the area that will serve Watford, St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead. The latest action by NHC involves an application for a judicial review of local health bosses decisions to invest money into refurbishing local hospitals with the vast majority of investment going to Watford. To move forward with this application, the NHC needs to raise £20,000. This is where you come in. Please click here for more information on how you can help.... NEW WEBSITE26 September 2019September 2019 and DHAG gets some help to launch a new website. It's going to take a few days to get things properly up and running but we'll be able to keep you in the loop a lot quicker now. Stay tuned!...
