News

Blow to case for moving our hospital services to Market Square

• Controversial plan for 390 Leighton Buzzard Road homes (see pic) approved and will almost certainly now go ahead
• This decision has met a lot of opposition and will affect our environment. But it does mean Dacorum Council could meet Government housing targets WITHOUT having to close the whole of the current Hemel Hospital site and replace it with flats
• It will make it easier for the NHS to use part of the existing site for the promised Hemel Community Hospital
• This weakens the case of those who are pushing to move NHS services to the Market Square
• The NHS and Dacorum Council MUST now publish ALL the options for our Community Hospital. 

by philip

Next steps towards Hemel's Community Hospital - a wide range of options

• Treasury rules explain the next stage on the journey to Hemel Community Hospital. This autumn will be crucial.
• A Strategic Outline Case (SOC) document, to be submitted soon, MUST:
• set out 'investment or spending objectives' - what the Community Hospital should aim to do
• describe 'a wide range of realistic options to be appraised (the long-list), in terms of how well they meet the spending objectives and critical success factors for
  the scheme; and then a reduced number of possible options (the short-list) to be examined in further detail.'
• assess how well each option meets the 'critical success factors - the attributes essential for successful delivery of the project'
• The NHS and Dacorum Council have to agree on this SOC this autumn. It MUST include a range of options.
• They have NOT made it clear to the public that the Market Square 'Campus' option is only one among several possible options to achieve the objectives
• This must change very quickly

by philip

Possible options for Dacorum's hospital services?

• The NHS must put forward to the Government soon a range of options for future hospital services in Dacorum
• One option is the move of services from the current Hemel Hospital site to the Hemel Market Square, now described by the NHS as a community hospital
• BUT there must be more options, otherwise the Government will not pay for it
• These options should be made public soon
• None of them would see the restoration of Hemel as an acute hospital, but they would establish a range of much-needed planned local hospital services
• One option could be the refurbishment of the Verulam Building on the current Hospital site, given planning approval in 2022. See the illustration in this post
• Other options were developed by the NHS in 2018. These would involve quite extensive works on the current site, or leaving it as it is.  They would not see the return of A&E, and could be quite expensive. The budget may not stretch. Click below for the 2018 shortlist of options for Hemel Hospital development:
• 2018 options

by philip

Win for campaigners as NHS boss admits we need a Hospital in Hemel

• Public pressure has forced the NHS to admit that Hemel needs a hospital rather than a mere Hub or Campus
• West  Herts NHS Trust boss Matt Coats told the Trust Board recently that 'We’ve agreed with our partners to develop a new modern community hospital' for Hemel.
• This is a major win for campaigners - the first NHS admission that a 'Hub' or a 'Campus' just won't do for the 155000 people of Dacorum
• BUT THERE IS STILL A PROBLEM
• The NHS believes the assertion by Dacorum Borough Council that the services we need can be squeezed onto the Market Square in Marlowes
• There must  be severe doubts about that, with parking under pressure and space at a premium
• There must be public discussion of other options that might work better and be better value for money  - including using part of the current Hospital site
• The battle continues!

by philip

Market Square Campus - show us the money

• Do the financial sums add up for the proposed Hemel Market Square Health Campus?
• At first glance they certainly don't.
• The big question is why paying many millions for a new structure on the Market Square is  good value for money when there are usable modern-ish buildings on the current site
• The Campus building could cost well over £30m, judging by the sum paid for the QE2 Hospital in Welwyn for example. Money is very tight indeed.
• Some money could come from grants for urban regeneration. There are some NHS funds for diagnostic facilities.
• BUT it's very doubtful that would be enough.
• Selling the current Hospital site would be one way of raising funds
• BUT - the sale value of a large part of the Hospital site was estimated at just £10m three years ago. Surely it's not possible that the value of the whole site has gone up so much?
• It does not look financially sensible for the NHS and Dacorum Council to even consider the Market Square option
• CAMPUS SUPPORTERS NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY THINK THE CAMPUS WOULD BE GOOD VALUE FOR THE PATIENT AND THE TAXPAYER

by philip

Council's survey on Hub - will it give a true picture of opinion?

Dacorum Council is using a survey to seek views on the proposed Market Square Health Campus or Hub.

The survey has some features which make it unreliable as a guide to the true state of opinion:

• There is no reference to any alternatives to establishing the Campus on the Market Square. Treasury rules state that, to get the money for the project, the local NHS will have to consider 'a wide range of possible options'. The next stage in the project, the Strategic  Outline Case, MUST have a section on 'Making the case for change'. That means that keeping the Hospital where it is must be one of the alternatives. That key information is being kept from the public during this engagement.
• Some key questions about the benefits of the Campus/Hub are set out in a (frankly weird) way which favours acceptance of the concept. The survey sets out various features of the Hub and asks the respondent for the level of agreement. But in the box which would normally indicate strong disagreement there is, bizarrely, only the meaningless 'Strongly'. Perhaps a formatting error?
• It appears that multiple responses can be made from the same device. This suggests that the same person could respond many times (unless they are filtered out at a later stage). For comparison, the Dacorum Health Action Group survey, which does set out alternative options, does NOT allow such multiple responses.

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by philip

There IS an alternative to the Market Square Health Campus

• There IS an alternative to the Market Square Hub/Campus now being advertised
• A detailed 2021 proposal to make the current Hemel Hempstead Hospital the 'planned medicine centre' for the whole of West Herts was abandoned by the area's Trust.
• The improved Hemel Hospital would have focused on the Verulam Building and would have:
• been West Herts' top specialised centre for respiratory medicine, rheumatology, diabetes care, dermatology and older people's services, with increased specialist  appointments for other conditions
• provided 'updated and appropriate diagnostic facilities to deliver the best one-site care possible for patients who are not acutely unwell and do not need surgical intervention but do require hospital-delivered medical treatment in a setting that meets their clinical needs.'
• Would have allowed the Council to use the rest of the existing Hospital site for housing
• This practical alternative to the proposed Market Square Hub was given planning permission less than three years ago
• Why are we not being consulted on this option, which would have preserved the Hospital in the town??
• This is the link to the 2022 Hemel Hospital development plan:
• https://planning.dacorum.gov.uk/publicaccess/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=RC83NRFOFKD00

by philip

Parking problems cast doubt on Hemel Hub plans

• Lack of car park space is causing the NHS and Dacorum Council concern as they push forward with the Market Square Hub scheme to replace Hemel Hospital
• In the past the Hub's backers have been confident that the Water Gardens car park can accommodate all the 400 or so cars which currently use spaces at the Hospital
• But today the Council admitted that parking  will have to be 'looked at in more detail as part of the business case'
• The Water Gardens car park has only 600 spaces in all. There is no way that it can take 400 extra vehicles - perhaps it needs a very pricey extra floor!
• And many of the spaces at the Water Gardens are many metres away from the Market Square - causing anxiety for people with mobility problems

by philip