ARE WE SAFE IN THE HANDS OF THE NHS? RATE YOUR LOCAL SERVICES
Hertfordshire's top NHS body is asking the public to rate local health and social care services by how good - and how safe - they are.
People will also be able to say how well online services provided by GPs and others are working. The Integrated Care Board (ICB) for Herts and West Essex is running the online survey.
This is a chance to tell the NHS what we think of it, and the Dacorum Health Action Group (DHAG) is urging people to take the chance to get their voices heard.
DHAG Chair Philip Aylett says:
'It's not often that the NHS lays itself open to judgment like this, and I hope a lot of people will take the opportunity to make clear where services are safe and of good quality - and where they're failing. That means we can say what is good or bad at Watford General, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead Hospitals, but also give our views of GP and social care services.
'The NHS is going to rely more and more on online services in the future, so we need to tell it where they can be improved.
'This is a simple survey which doesn't take long to do. I hope lots of people will fill it in.'
The link to the NHS survey is below
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/4M3QZ1/
How confident do you feel, using a scale of 1-5, that the care you or a family member received was safe?
MONEY PUZZLE AS DACORUM COUNCIL HEARS CASE FOR BEEFING UP HEMEL HOSPITAL
Dacorum Health Action Group (DHAG) Chair Philip Aylett made the case for investment in Hemel Hempstead Hospital to a full meeting of Dacorum Council this week.
He called on the Council to press West Herts Trust to keep a wide range of hospital services in Dacorum, Hertfordshire's largest borough, slamming as 'misleading' claims by the Trust that their current plans would give Hemel Hospital a 'distinct role' for the future in hosting planned medical appointments. Trust documents analysed by DHAG show that Watford will retain its role as the area's main centre for planned medical appointments.
And there is a mystery about money for new hospital developments, with the Trust position confused.
Council Leader Ron Tindall reported that he was in discussion with the Trust about health services for Dacorum, but revealed that there was no news about finance for any development. Mr Tindall said of his talks with Trust Chief Executive Matthew Coats and Chair Phil Townsend:
We couldn’t actually come to a great deal because the government are still keeping their cards very close to their chest and we’ve still got no details about the money, which is unfortunate because nothing else can be decided without that.
Dr Aylett commented: 'It was good to get a sympathetic hearing and to see that there is interest from our elected representatives in Dacorum in ensuring good hospital services here. There seems to be a cross-party recognition that we need to have convenient hospital care close to home. Action is needed - there is no guarantee in the plans of the unelected and untransparent Trust that Hemel Hospital would have a clear future role, despite their misleading claims to the contrary.
'Whatever happens in the Borough there seems to be agreement across the Council that a new emergency care and specialist hospital on a clear new site would still be the best way forward for Dacorum residents.
'But we are a long way from decisions, and confusion reigns about funding. The Trust say they are unable to tell the Council what money will be available for redevelopment, but less than two months ago they welcomed a Government announcement of 'full funding' for their preferred option at Watford. No funding figures were made public.
'Does that mean that, while Watford funding is agreed, Hemel and St Albans Hospitals will still have to fight for financial support? Or was the 'full funding' announcement just mostly hot air, as we have suspected all along?
'In recent months the Trust has gone into its shell, with almost no public engagement about its plans. The funding picture for Dacorum and West Herts generally is totally unclear and the mystery needs clearing up.'
WATFORD HOSPITAL WARDS RATED WORST IN NHS FOR FOOD SAFETY
Wards at Watford General Hospital have been officially rated the worst in the whole of the NHS for food safety.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has given the Vicarage Road facility a hygiene rating of one out of a possible five, meaning that ‘major improvement’ is necessary.
The Hospital is the only hospital of many hundreds in the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to get the 'single star' rating. It has not improved its rating since 2019.
A damning report by Watford Borough Council health inspectors on behalf of the FSA uncovered a litany of hygiene failures. A kitchen in a children’s ward had a dirty floor and bare plaster on the walls. Patients with allergies have been put at ‘serious risk’ by poor safety practices, with stroke patients among those exposed to the danger.
Read the Food safety media release . Read the Watford General Food Safety Report
WEST HERTS TRUST BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE FOR PLANNED TREATMENT
West Herts Hospitals Trust has been lagging behind the rest of the English NHS when it comes to elective - planned - treatment.
A recent Health Service Journal article pointed out that the Trust is way behind its target to do more elective work. The targets have been set by the NHS to push trusts into recovering from the backlog of work caused by Covid.
But West Herts is far off the national pace. In early 2022-23 it only managed to do 77 per cent of the pre-pandemic level of elective work, and has been told to increase this to 103 per cent.
This poor performance puts it well behind other local trusts, such as Bedfordshire including Luton and Dunstable, which is achieving 95 per cent of the pre-pandemic figure, and East and North Herts (including Lister) which is recovering well to achieve 110 percent.
And the many years of construction work planned by the Trust on the site of Watford General (and St Albans City) will probably deter people from choosing W Herts. The result will be financial pain for our Trust as patients vote with their feet to avoid our building site hospitals.
Photo: Clay Banks on Unsplash
£39 MILLION HOSPITAL PARKING ‘SOLUTION’ WON’T WORK
A parking crisis is looming for West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust. Demand for car spaces from new developments at Watford General and St Albans City Hospitals looks like exceeding planned supply. A year-old £39.3 million multi-storey car park, the Trust's claimed 'parking solution', is not likely to be big enough. Many patients, other visitors and staff could be forced to park well away from the hospitals.
The New Hospital Campaign is urging a ‘radical rethink’ of the Trust's Watford proposals - planning for an emergency care and specialist hospital on a clear new site rather than trying to squeeze so much onto the cramped Watford General site.
NHC Co-ordinator Philip Aylett said:
‘The Watford General site is simply unsuitable for the planned expansion. The case for redevelopment there relied on the claim that construction work would not interfere with the operation of the Hospital. This is patently untrue – disruption will be endemic at Watford General.'
At St Albans City Hospital, plans for a new elective surgery hub to reduce backlogs, serving the whole of Hertfordshire and West Essex, are stumbling over lack of car park space.
The Trust are desperately searching for spaces to meet the increased demand generated by the new hub. One possibility is for 20-30 cars to park on the Batchwood estate - a mile away across a busy road. Mr Aylett criticised the Trust's St Albans parking proposals as 'absurd'.
The full media release is here
A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF HEMEL HOSPITAL
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!
OUTSOURCED HEALTH SERVICES ARE NOT UP TO SCRATCH
With 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 DOUBT
The 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 WARNING
New 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
NEW WEST HERTS HOSPITAL BUILDINGS BY 2025 – OR WILL IT BE 2030 ?
Doubts 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