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Broken promises and cuts behind Law's departure
David Law joined West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust in 2001 as director of planning and performance, though he has worked in the NHS in the area since 1998.
His arrival at the trust came just two years after campaigners claimed a success in their long battle to keep full services in Hemel Hempstead when a health minister ruled out a new 'superhospital' for West Hertfordshire.
It was ordered that acute services should remain in both Hemel Hempstead and Watford 'for the foreseeable future'.
But in 2001 proposals were drawn up to close maternity services and the special care baby unit in Hemel Hempstead, on the grounds there were not enough staff to run a safe service.
The threat drew one of the strongest reactions from the community in recent times.
In December of that year an unprecedented 52,000-signature petition was delivered to 10 Downing Street against the move.
However, the departments were temporarily closed for a period of time 'on safety grounds' before a permanent shutdown in 2002.
In his position as director of planning, Mr Law must have played a major part in these decisions.
In the same year the infamous Investing In Your Health consultation was launched with the aim of reducing the number of acute sites in Hertfordshire.
There was another groundswell of support for the hospital with a 23,000-signature petition and the Hands Around The Hospital demonstration attended by thousands.
But in 2003 it was decided the hospital would become a 'surgicentre' for planned operations with a minor injuries unit rather than full A&E.
At this time Val Harrison was chief executive at the trust, but her preference for Hemel Hempstead as the acute centre over a decaying Watford put her on a collision course with senior managers at the then Beds and Herts Strategic Health Authority.
In the spring of 2004 Mrs Harrison left the trust and Mr Law, at the age of 44, stepped in as interim chief executive.
Just a few months later he was appointed to the position permanently and among his first public announcements was a call to be alerted to hygiene problems in his hospitals.
He may feel now that this has come back to haunt him, with latest figures showing the trust to have among the highest rates of killer bugs in the country.
Just after Mr Law's appointment an 880million package was announced by the health authority that would be spent on a new hospital in Hatfield and a 300million rebuild at Watford.
But as we now know, the Hatfield hospital option was thrown out because it was too expensive and a surgicentre will not be built in Hemel Hempstead.
Currently just 38million has been allocated to putting up temporary buildings in Watford to cope with the influx when full A&E closes in Hemel Hempstead next year.
In 2005 the award-winning Hemel Birth Centre, a low-risk unit set up in 2003 to soften the blow of losing full maternity services, was closed.
In that year the trust announced debts of more than 28million and then in 2006 proposals were unveiled to shift all acute services to Watford to save money.
This is now scheduled to take place next year, but the hoped-for savings this will produce and the new infrastructure have not come fast enough to prevent the poor results that have prompted Mr Law's departure.
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -8 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
