Would the Hub deal be good for patients and the taxpayer?

  • Supporters of Hemel's Market Square Hub talk about it as a done deal
  • They claim it is the ONLY way forward for our local hospital care
  • The 'engagement' on the Hub has been so biased that it seems likely that the NHS and Dacorum Council are ALREADY signed up to it
  • This PR suggests that commitments have already been made, probably with private sector developers
  • There is growing evidence that deals like PFI - the Private Finance Initiative - have been VERY BAD for NHS finances
  • The Hub deal could be a variety of PFI, leaving the  meaning . Or it could be great for the taxpayer - on

by philip

Market Square was REJECTED as hospital site by NHS

  • A secret internal document shows NHS gave low rating to Market Square as possible hospital site in 2018
  • Developing on current Hemel Hospital site assessed as best way forward after major study of options
  • Market Square did not make shortlist of options, because it was weak on:
  • Functional Suitability
  • Operational efficiency
  • Deliverability
  • Wider Economic benefit
  • Strategic flexibility
  • FIVE options for building on the current Hemel Hospital site were given better ratings and appeared on the shortlist
  • Dacorum Health Action Group have been shown the 57-page document, a draft business case, which was never published as West Herts Trust decided to focus development at Watford General 
  • The draft business case is below, with the table rating the various site options on page 31:
  • HVCCG SOC draft v10_12Sep18_Project Group

by philip

Public won't be consulted on Hemel Hospital closure as PM's pledge is ignored

    • Despite a pledge to the House of Commons by the Prime Minister,  there will be no public consultation over the planned closure of Hemel Hospital
    • Sir Keir Starmer promised David Taylor MP on 4 June that there would be such consultation in respect of plans for a Health Campus or Hub to replace the Hospital
    • But the NHS and Dacorum Borough Council will not be delivering on the PM's pledge of a formal legal process of consultation, according to a paper sent to the Council's Health and Wellbeing Committee. The PM's promised consultation is not mentioned once in the document
    • The paper promises only limited 'engagement' meetings.
    • It is understood that, at this stage, key issues such as funding and location will not be open for discussion.
    • These restricted meetings do not meet the standards of openness and accountability legally required by public consultation. 
    • House of Commons rules require that a Member who gives inaccurate information to the House must correct the record
    • Who is going to make that call to No 10 Downing Street?  

by philip

Trust slashes spending on patient services - but fails to meet targets for admin cuts

  • West Herts Hospitals Trust is planning to cut £22 million from its spending this year - with most coming from patient services.
  • But the Trust claims it can't meet a target to reduce admin costs
  • The Trust's will cut about £20 from patient services this year, with temporary staffing being reduced by £8m  and other cuts for A&E, elective activity and medicines.
  • But the Trust says it can only make cuts of £1.6m in administrative 'corporate services' 
  • The NHS has asked the Trust to cut nearly £10m from corporate services, but the Trust says it can only make £1.6m in savings
  • Corporate services covers everything from controlling finance and purchasing equipment to managing buildings or technology infrastructure, from tracking performance and communications to keeping records for a ward.
  • But even if it makes all these cuts, the Trust will still be in financial trouble. The reductions will leave it only about half-way to an overall £42 million annual savings target set for it by NHS England. 
  • The figures are contained in papers prepared for a 27 June meeting of the body that oversees the NHS in Herts and West Essex - the Integrated Care Board.
  • The link to the papers is here - see pages about the South and West Herts Health and Care Partnership Integrated Delivery Plan:
  • https://www.hertsandwestessex.ics.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HWE-ICB-Public-Board_27.06.25_Final-Pack.pdf

 

by philip

West Herts Trust refuse to say how much they've wasted on Watford General project

West Herts Trust have refused to make public how much has been wasted on developing the Watford General rebuild scheme - now stalled for 7 to 9 years

Health Service Journal has published estimates for money wasted on other schemes in the 40 New Hospitals programme

But West Herts have apparently blocked HSJ's freedom of info request on how much Wasteful Watford has cost up to now

by philip

Survey suggests little current public support for Hemel Health Campus

  • An opinion survey suggests there is little public support for a Hemel Health Campus - at least at the moment
  • Of the 1025 people who took part in a survey of public opinion from 8 to 31 March, an overwhelming majority (91%) would like to see development of the current Hemel Hempstead Hospital site for a community hospital.
  • Just 9% of respondents said they preferred the Hemel Health Campus proposed for the Market Square in Hemel
  • The survey, via the Survey Monkey portal, does not provide a scientific cross-section of the population, and respondents are self-selected, but the result gives some indication of public opinion
  • Although there have been many general statements from the NHS and Dacorum Borough Council about what the Health Campus might offer, they have lacked detail. There has been no commitment from the NHS to provide any specific service in Dacorum in the future
  • The result of this survey is concerning. The NHS and Dacorum Borough Council strongly favour the Campus idea, but have not provided the information that  residents need to make an informed decision about the hospital services they require, and where they should be sited
  • The NHS should urgently draw up firm proposals for the future of hospital care in Dacorum - and the public must be consulted about them without further delay.
  • The survey results are here: Summary of March 2025 survey

by philip

Exploring new hospital sites - the NHS sets out the to-do list

West Herts NHS Trust explained how, in 18 months or less, a new site  could become the 'preferred option' for the area's emergency care hospital.

The work towards a new preferred option, set out in a paper for the Trust Board in May 2022, would include:

  •  an updated site search to identify suitable potential sites
  • an appraisal of these sites to identify any viable options / a shortlist of
    potential sites
  • more detailed appraisal of the shortlist to identify one or more preferred
    options
  • initial review of site infrastructure requirements
  • preliminary commercial negotiations
  • exploratory discussions with relevant planning authorities
  • detailed feasibility studies and 1:500 designs for the identified site/s to produce robust and comparable capital costs for the shortlist appraisal
  • The paper  says 'Once all the above had been completed the detailed option appraisal could be updated and a new preferred option recommendation ascertained. It is anticipated that it would take c.12 to 18 months to complete the above work and cost in excess of £2m.' 
  • There would then be more detailed work on the new preferred option, including getting planning permission. That could take between 9 and 18 months.
  • Even if this preliminary work on a new option took the maximum time calculated by the Trust, the project would be well on the way by 2028.
  • The Watford General project does not have full planning permission and no final design has been determined

The papers are here - see Tab 5.2 - shortlist review   May_2022_board_papers2

by philip

Watford General patients could face years of disruption from two huge building schemes

Councils consider plan which could mean many years of disruption for Watford General patients, as two major building projects happen at the same time.

  • Joint scrutiny committee is looking at proposals to bring relocated new Mount Vernon Cancer Centre together with Watford General rebuild.
  • Cancer Centre needs to be near a general hospital for safer and better patient care
  • Plans could mean £1.4bn 260-foot towering infirmary being built at same time as £465m cancer centre to replace Mount Vernon centre - on virtually same site
  • Current main building could be facing noise and pollution nuisance from two sides for many years.
  • Plans being considered by joint local authority committee would also mean Watford site being run by two separate Trusts - with risk of management chaos
  • Houses, flats and hotels also likely to be built at same time within a few metres of new buildings
  • NHS unlikely to consider the best option - a clear new site for both new buildings away from cramped Vicarage Road which would provide better access and environment - and better value for money

The papers for the joint committee are below - see Agenda Pack page 20.

Public reports pack 16122024 1000 Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee

by philip

WEAK COUNCIL PLAN COULD MEAN DOWNGRADE FOR HOSPITAL SERVICES

  • Inadequate Dacorum Council plans risk a poorer future for Hemel's health services
  • Dacorum Borough Council's local plan needs to be strengthened to prevent the NHS downgrading the Borough's hospital facilities
  • NHS services must be expanded to meet the needs of Borough's growing and ageing population (numbers of over-65s will rise 35% in the next 20 years)
  • But the Council's draft plan gives no guarantee even that all inadequate existing services will be maintained in the planned Health Hub which could take the place of Hemel Hospital. It says only the Hub 'will likely replace much of the remaining facilities on the existing hospital site.'
  • The NHS refuses to guarantee that the Hemel Urgent Care Centre (40000 cases a year) will be maintained or replaced
  • The Council needs to stand up for our local hospital services - and not let the NHS downgrade them further

The Dacorum Local Plan is below - see especially paragraph 2.44

Appendix A_Local Plan to 2041 for SPAE

by philip

WATFORD GENERAL ISN'T THE BEST FOR MANY - IN WATFORD

FOR MANY WATFORD PEOPLE, WATFORD GENERAL WOULD NOT BE THE BEST OPTION FOR A NEW HOSPITAL - LOOK AT THIS MAP

  • Watford General is not easy to get to from much of Watford - close to the southern edge of the Borough
  • Possible new hospital sites in Wayside Farm, south of Kings Langley and Bricket Wood/Chiswell Green (near the M1/M25 junction) would be closer than Watford General for many thousands of Watford people
  • People in Garston, Leavesden and other parts of Watford would find it easier to get to alternative sites - to say nothing of the hundreds of thousands who live outside the Borough
  • Other sites could emerge if the NHS encouraged them
    There is now NO funded plan for Watford General, with the Government reviewing the project
  • Time for a major rethink of the stalled Watford General project - let's go for a new West Herts Hospital

by philip