MOUNT VERNON CONSULTATION COULD UPEND WATFORD GENERAL PLANS

There was very bad news for the West Herts Trust recently as the NHS decided to ask the public what should happen to the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC). A public consultation is being planned for later this year.

MVCC is an excellent facility and serves a big population in the south and east.

But it’s falling down and urgently needs replacement next to an acute hospital where patients can be supported if they are very ill during cancer treatment.

The NHS want to build a replacement building squeezed in between Watford General and Watford FC, but that would almost certainly mean one of two very poor outcomes. Either:

• Building at the same time as the towering West Herts infirmary is constructed at Watford General, causing even more chaos, contamination, noise and dust for patients in the existing hospital, or
• Waiting to start building until the tower blocks are finished – 2031 is the target but 2032 is more likely.

The second is much more likely. That will mean a decade more of crumbling at MVCC.

Surely the NHS should urgently consider a potentially quicker and certainly better solution – a clear new site for both West Herts new acute hospital AND MVCC.

The Trust will be upset with the consultation as it opens up the possibility of a solution that does not involve their beloved Vicarage Road site.

The New Hospital Campaign will be putting this case when the MVCC consultation starts.