News

'Commercial interests' cited as Council keep Hospital closure evidence secret

• • Dacorum Council says the public have no right to see the evidence behind its decision to back the closure of Hemel Hospital 
  • The Council claims its 'commercial interests' - and those of unspecified others - take priority over the public's right to know
  • The Council  turned down a Freedom of Information request from a DHAG member about the process for deciding to press for the Hospital to be closed and replaced by a Hub.
  • A Council officer said making the evidence for the decision public could 'prejudice future stages of the scheme, as well as the ability to obtain best value in terms of future funding and contracts'. 
  • This would 'likely prejudice the commercial interests of any person/body including the local authority.' 
  • The evidence for the closure decision was 'received by the Council in circumstances where there has been no obligation to provide information'.  Publication would, the Council claimed, pose a 'risk of discouraging others from engaging in such research in the future.'
  • The Council also failed to provide details of the longlist of possible options which had been drawn up by the Council and the NHS
  • Key extracts from the letter from the Council are below:
  • Final-FOI-Dec-25-1 (3)

by philip

Trust misleads public and councillors on future of Hemel endoscopy service

• West Herts Trust suggests Hemel's much-appreciated endoscopy service can only be provided in the Market Square Hub
• The service is currently provided in a modern environment in Hemel Hospital's 1990s Verulam Wing 
• A misleading slide used in the 'engagement' sessions and Council meetings claims that the 'Health Campus' was needed to continue a full endoscopy service for Dacorum
• The slide lists among the things 'Option 4 provides above all other options' - 'Maintaining provision of full Endoscopy service in Dacorum, no need to travel to access Endoscopy Services at other sites.'
• The Trust suggests it will have to move the service to St Albans if the Hub is not agreed
• This is nonsense, playing on people's fears
• Endoscopy could easily continue to be provided in the Verulam Wing
• In fact the Trust has just signed a £2.5m contract for refurbishing the service in that Wing
• SO THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP THE TRUST KEEPING ENDOSCOPY AT HEMEL - EXCEPT ITS DESIRE TO CLOSE OUR HOSPITAL FOR GOOD

by philip

Hub car park will be far too small - this week's pictures

• A Dacorum councillor once claimed the Market Square Hub would be 'swimming in parking spaces' 
• That's nonsense - just look at these pictures
• Hub fans want to close Hemel Hospital (which has over 400 car spaces) and shift the cars to the Water Gardens facility 
• The Water Gardens car park has just 600 spaces - and today, Wednesday 17th December, it was well over half full
• Can't these people count?

by philip

Hemel Hub is not that new

• Claims that the Hemel Health Campus or Hub, planned for the Market Square, is a stunningly new concept are well wide of the mark
• In 2018, Dacorum Council and the NHS thought about building something very similar, in a new building on the existing Hemel Hospital site
• This is some of what was considered in 2018:

1. A local hospital that would be between 6000 and 10000 sq metres.
2. It would stress: 'Supporting local people to stay well and prevent ill-health through co-ordinated services – which encourages people to make healthy choices
    Empowering people to take an active part in their own care – to enable pro-active condition management and better information availability
    Ensuring people receive care in the right place, as close to home as possible – making primary care a central focus to keep people out of hospital
    Joining-up services for better care and better patient experience – supporting a person, not just a condition . 
3. It would be 'an opportunity to provide expanded GP services, with extended hours, supporting outpatient clinics and diagnostics in a modern setting that cannot be provided elsewhere in Dacorum.'
4. The aims would be to:  Relieve pressure on Watford General Hospital (WGH)
    Support community and mental health services 
    Provide a base for GP-led care on a locality basis
    Create strong links to the Dacorum Borough Council services that will be provided nearby
    Create opportunities for voluntary sector and community support groups to support integrated, holistic care. 
5. The aim was to include: 
6. access to pharmacists including dispensing pharmacy. Specialist GP working with specialist
   consultants.
    Children - out-of-hour services, Tier1 and Tier2 CAMH and online counselling.
    Maternity - health visits and routine scans
    Mental Health - IAPT, memory services and dementia services.

• THE MARKET SQUARE CAME NINTH EQUAL OUT OF TEN OPTIONS FOR THE LOCATION OF THIS 
• The publicity material for the 2025 Hub (likely to be 8000 square metres) includes this:

1. Focusing on prevention and local care - A campus will help shift the focus from treating people only when they reach a health crisis, to supporting their health earlier – helping people stay well and stay at home when possible. Rather than relying on hospital visits, more care will happen locally, in the community, with teams working together to support you before health problems get worse.
2. Shifting the focus of delivery to early help and prevention, with a particular emphasis on reducing health inequalities and ageing well
   Deliver care closer to home, including through multi-disciplinary teams that support more complex, older residents and reduce onward demand for acute care
3. Central to that will be bringing services together into a more joined-up and integrated health and care service, so we can more effectively meet the future needs of the local community.
4. Spaces for local wellbeing events led by community and faith groups

by philip

A reminder of what the public seem to think about the Hospital closure plan

• Over 95% of more than 1000 people said in the summer of 2025 that they wanted development on the current Hemel Hospital site 
• The informal poll gave a mere 3.29% approval to the Campus or Hub planned for the Market Square in the town

by philip

Experts backed new hospital on current site in 70-page report

• 70-page expert review report said A NEW HOSPITAL ON PART OF CURRENT HEMEL HOSPITAL SITE would be best option for future of NHS in Dacorum
• The report - the last independent review of sites - which lasted from 2016 to 2017 - was commissioned and paid for by Dacorum Council and the NHS
• Three top expert companies agreed the report
• The Council and the NHS have now DESTROYED the report
• BUT key parts of the report have been passed to Dacorum Health Action Group
• The report says a site on corner of King Harry Street and Hillfield Road would:

1. be 'flexible to meet future demands and new services'
2. allow 'sufficient parking area and easy access from King Harry Street and Hillfield Road'
3. 'maximise the potential of the [Hospital] site with a new build development in one of the most accessible parts of the site'

• Despite the clear expert verdict, the Council and NHS press on with the Market Square site - rated ninth equal out of ten options in a later report

by philip

Bad news for Hospital closure backers as our campaign surges

• Politicians aiming to close Hemel Hospital get bad news today
• New Hospital Campaign/DHAG Facebook Group is growing fast
• Record numbers are joining the Group - 43 new members in just the last week
• Many joiners seem to be concerned at the plans to close Hermel Hospital and build a Hub instead
• What can YOU do to push back against the closure crew?
• ASK YOUR COUNCILLOR TO SAY 'NO' TO CLOSURE.
• AND NO TO PLANS FOR THE MARKET SQUARE HUB.
• You can make a difference. The Dacorum elections are set for May 2027, but we should start NOW demanding action to save our Hospital and build a new facility there.
• Here is a hint: some Council wards had a very low turnout at the last elections in 2023.
• Voters in those wards where turnout was low should exploit the chance to should get active and tell their councillors what they think of the closure plan.
• These are the five Dacorum wards with the lowest %age turnout 2023 - where a bigger turnout could threaten a surprise result:
• Highfield 20.51%
• Adeyfield East 22.13%
• Adeyfield West 22.71%
• Grovehill 23%
• Woodhall Farm 23.07%

by philip

Council admits we had no say in Hospital closure decision - full letter

• Attached is the full response by a Dacorum Council officer to an FOI request about consultation on the closure of Hemel Hospital
• It makes clear that:

1. The 'engagement' public sessions held earlier this year were ONLY to 'gather views on the overall vision and model of care'.
2. So the decision to clear the Hospital site and build a Market Square Hub instead was taken WITHOUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT 
3. The size of the main NHS facility in Dacorum will be reduced from 18 acres to just 1.3 acres 
4. This will severely limit future development of local healthcare facilities for the 160,000 people of Dacorum
5. There will be no further work on any other option.
6. The current Hemel Hospital site will be available for 450 or more flats.
7. The Council claims that ANY public discussion of the factors behind the closure decision would be against its 'commercial interests'

Click below for the full response:

FOI Response 1 Dec 2025

by philip