Ministers try to avoid blame for Hospital closure plan
Health Ministers are refusing to defend the plan to replace Hemel Hospital with a Health Hub
Critics of the Hospital closure who write to Ministers are being told that the Government 'does not manage health ... services directly' and it cannot 'intervene in individual cases'
Letters from the Health Department for example claim UNELECTED OFFICIALS are responsible for 'hospital provision' and 'healthcare facilities' locally
The letters claim that Ministers just provide a 'strategic framework' and funding
The officials - effectively civil servants - work in regional Integrated Care Boards
The ministerial attempt to evade responsibility is misleading nonsense - Ministers ARE accountable to Parliament for how NHS hospitals are provided, locally and nationally, and answer Commons questions
But Government's failure to defend the Hospital closure leaves its few local supporters increasingly isolated
NHS Trust bosses fail to turn up for Dacorum meeting
West Herts NHS Trust promised to 'engage with all stakeholders throughout the planning process' for the Hemel Hospital closure/Health Hub project
The Trust have reneged on that pledge as closure moves closer
There has not been a public meeting about the Market Square 'health centre' Hub for over a year.
No representative of the Trust could be bothered to turn up at the recent Dacorum Council Health meeting
So key questions on the future capacity of the urgent treatment centre and secondary care in Hemel went unanswered
A paper from the Trust gave no update on progress on the Hemel Hub project, simply referring to past videos and articles
Some councillors are promoting the plan to close the Hospital and replace it with the Market Square Hub
They suggested it was too early to provide detailed information on the future of the UTC and secondary care
The Hub plan was first announced almost three years ago, in November 2023.
Patients give local NHS Trust low marks in national survey
Patients have given West Herts Trust a series of poor ratings in a national ranking
The Trust performs well below average in a Care Quality Commission survey of English Trusts based on inpatient responses
It is one of eight trusts that are performing 'somewhat worse than expected' on key patient care issues.
West Herts rated 'worse than expected' on patients:
- Feeling that they waited the right amount of time on the waiting list before being admitted
- Getting information while waiting to be admitted
- Having their questions answered by doctors and nurses in a way they could understand
- Being involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment
- Feeling able to talk to staff about any worries and fears, if needed
- Believing that hospital staff took into account their individual language needs, such as translations, braille, or interpreters
- Being able to discuss with hospital staff if any equipment or home adaptations were needed when leaving hospital
The survey is NOT bad news for the NHS as a whole - the CQC says the results 'show statistically significant improvement across multiple areas of care for a second consecutive year.'
But West Herts is lagging behind other NHS Trusts on these important scores
West Herts was 'Trust of the Year' in 2025 and is admired by Ministers and some other politicians for hitting official targets
But our local NHS Trust is failing to impress the people that REALLY matter - patients.
DHAG attacks Minister's Hub claim
A local health group has criticised a claim made by a Government minister about the plan to replace Hemel Hospital with a 'neighbourhood health centre' (NHC) Hub
Dacorum Health Action Group (DHAG) says Karin Smyth is wrong to say the Market Square centre will bring care 'closer to where people live'.
In fact the plans would see a big reduction in the accommodation for secondary care in Hemel
The 29-acre Hospital site, which sees over 30,000 appointments annually, will close when the health centre - on just one acre - opens.
Both sites are in the town centre, well away from the bulk of Hemel homes
NHCs will have few rooms for secondary care, emphasising prevention and community healthcare
With the closure of Hemel's Hospital, more and more secondary appointments would almost certainly have to take place at Watford and St Albans
There would also likely be a decrease in urgent treatment, given the small size of the health centre
DHAG Chair Philip Aylett has written to the Minister offering a meeting to set out the Group's 'very fundamental concerns' about the project
Dr Aylett also attacks the failure by NHS bosses to deliver on the explicit PMQs promise of 'public consultation' on the project, made to Hemel MP David Taylor by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He says this failure has left 'many residents feeling effectively disenfranchised in ensuring that their views are taken into account.'
Dr Aylett's letter is below
The best site for Hemel's new hospital development?
This picture of a well-kept Cheere House and garden is from 2012
Before 14 years of neglect and dithering by NHS bosses ruined this Hemel landmark
Sadly this 1832 building is almost certainly on the way to final collapse
But the town centre Cheere House site is a good one for hospital development
It is within 70 metres of Marlowes and close to existing bus stops
A new building on this site would be far better than the proposed, cramped Market Square health centre
King Harry Street (right of picture) could have dedicated bus stops almost at the front door. There would be dedicated parking
The building could be MUCH bigger than the proposed Market Square health centre
But the authorities don't want you to know about these alternatives to the Market Square
Or other good options using the current site
Trust inaction makes Hemel town centre eyesore worse
A town centre landmark is deteriorating fast as local NHS bosses fail to act on its future
Historic Cheere House, Hemel's first Hospital building, was declared UNSAFE in May after a major roof collapse
But nearly four months later, West Herts NHS Trust have STILL not secured several upper floor floor windows with proper steel shutters
The Trust recently said it had 'fully secured the site to prevent unauthorised access and further deterioration.'
That's misleading - access has been blocked, but further deterioration IS happening
Cheere House has a number of rotting windows, and some have no glass
And long weeds are sprouting from a chimney
The Trust needs to come clean about the future of this prominent town centre building
The final collapse of Cheere House surely can't be far away, as damage goes apparently unchecked
If that happened, there might be just one silver lining
The site could be regenerated with a much better and more accessible new hospital building than the inadequate Market Square Hub
That is just one of several good options using the present Hospital site which the authorities don't want you to know about
Hub space squeeze could mean rush to telephone and online appointments
The authorities claim existing secondary care services would be 'relocated' from Hemel Hospital to the Market Square Hub
That claim needs to be taken with a big pinch of salt
There is unlikely to be anything like enough room to provide existing services on the one-acre multi-use Hub site
National policy on neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) like the Hub says there would be NO ROOMS dedicated to hospital level 'secondary shift' consultations and examinations
There would be just TWO ROOMS for secondary shift treatment in an NHC
That would be a major reduction in space from our Hospital, which has scores of rooms for consultation and treatment
The future for Hemel's hospital care would be increasingly remote as virtual contacts - on telephone or online - take up 50% of appointments
For face-to-face consultations with specialist hospital doctors - it will more and more be journeys to Watford or St Albans
Virtual appointments can be more convenient for patients. The aim is to have more home visits as well.
But guidelines suggest that virtual appointments will be half the length of the average face-to-face appointment at just 15 minutes
And some doctors are already worried that they are being asked by the NHS to do too many virtual appointments.
The Doctors’ Association UK GP spokesperson Dr Steve Taylor recently said: ‘If doctors are just sat behind screens all day, that is a risk, and we do need to recognise that face-to-face is still the is still the best way of actually treating and diagnosing patients. Without recognising that as the gold standard, there’s going to be problems going forward.’
The NHS policy on neighbourhood health centres is at:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/neighbourhood-health-centres/
Hub space squeeze - where will ambulances go?
Earlier this year, NHS bosses agreed to add a 'public square' to the front of the Market Square neighbourhood health centre Hub
This could improve the look of the Hub - but raises a doubt over ambulance access
The agreement on the square came after pressure to reduce the dominating visual impact of the five-storey Hub on the lovely Water Gardens
Historic England were concerned that such a building would create a 'canyon' effect which would make the Gardens look smaller
The Council agreed with that heritage watchdog to add a 'public square' to the Waterhouse Street frontage of the Hub to soften the impact on the Gardens
But that leaves a question mark over how ambulances can access the Hub
Will an ambulance bay be awkwardly combined with the new 'public square'?
Or will ambulances just have to draw up in Waterhouse Street or Marlowes?
The authorities keep trying to squeeze too much into the unsuitable, too small Market Square
There are better options on the current site
Too small to cope? Doubts over plans for urgent treatment in Hub
The Market Square hub could see a big cut in local urgent treatment services
The Hub would be a neighbourhood health centre (NHC)
NHCs are intended to deal with just 18,000 ‘minor injuries/walk-in’ cases a year, according to a national policy document
Hemel Hospital’s equivalent urgent treatment centre sees 45,000 cases each year
That could mean a gap of 27,000 cases a year if the health centre Hub goes ahead
And that is without the impact of future population growth
Cue more queuing for Hemel patients at Watford General A&E?
The Market Square Hub would be a downgrade
Meanwhile the price tag for the Watford General rebuild rises to £2bn as cost control there goes out the window
Hemel deserves something much better, and those we elect should be demanding a fairer financial settlement
The document is the Activity Calculator in the Neighbourhood Health Centre guidance published by NHS England
Hemel Hospital's smart wards are just for filming
Those in favour of destroying Hemel Hospital claim it is derelict and unusable
That is nonsense.
The West Herts Trust makes money from hiring unused parts of the Hospital - including some of the Windsor Wing - for TV and film locations
There is a company called Location Collective which promotes our wards to producers
Our Hospital buildings are NOT all in 'disrepair' as some claim
Here are just some pictures used to sell our Hospital wards to the entertainment industry:
