County Council elections – a chance to make your voice heard on Hemel and Watford hospitals
- The Herts County Council elections on 1 May are a chance to make your voice heard on Hemel and Watford Hospitals
- Why? Because the NHS is run in a way that is completely undemocratic
- The key decisions on our health services are made in secret by unelected bureaucrats and people appointed by the Government. These have often been bad decisions in West Herts
- The only impact voters can have on what happens to our hospitals is via the County Council, which has a Health Scrutiny Committee
- These Committees have strong powers. The Government says they ‘play a vital role as the body responsible for scrutinising health services for their local area. They retain legal duties to review and scrutinise matters relating to the planning, provision and operation of the health service in the area.’
- But the Herts Committee has failed to use these powers effectively. It has made no impact on the NHS trusts and their unpopular plans for a rebuild of Watford General – and the vague proposal for a ‘Hub’ in Hemel to replace Hemel Hospital
- We need elected people to hold the Trust bureaucrats and placemen to account for their decisions
- If and when candidates and canvassers call round and ask for your vote, please ask them:
– Will you urge the County Council Health Scrutiny Committee to demand a hospital in Hemel Hempstead that will provide enough high-quality hospital services to meet the needs of Dacorum’s ageing and growing population for at least 30 years?
– Will you urge the Health Scrutiny Committee to demand that the NHS explore accessible new sites as alternatives to the delayed rebuild of Watford General?