Campaigners for new hospital in West Hertfordshire give funding news cautious welcome

The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) has welcomed the news that money may be available for the redevelopment of the hospital estate in West Hertfordshire

In a statement from the NHC, it was also keen to hear a feasibility study of possible sites for a new hospital was nearing completion.

It said: "It is encouraging that the views of the thousands of local residents who are convinced that Vicarage Road (the site occupied by Watford General Hospital) is not a suitable site for an emergency hospital have finally been listened to.

"But we have major concerns about this exercise. Many people who came away from last week’s meetings of the West Herts Hospitals Trust’s (WHHT) Stakeholder Reference Group received the firm impression that the Trust remain committed to the renovation of the Vicarage Road site.

"In the presentation the possibility of extra money was specifically linked to redevelopment work at Vicarage Road.

"We therefore fear the exercise, which is being rushed through in a few weeks, may be a smokescreen."

Helen Brown, the deputy CEO of the Trust who heads the whole process, said in a statement that an all new hospital on a new site “will be part of our longlist and will be part of the same rigorous process as the other possibilities we will be looking at.”

Commenting on this, Edie Glatter of the NHC said: “This can only happen if Vicarage Road is itself part of the feasibility study, and according to the proposal document attached to the new statement it is not. Without that the exercise will have no credibility as a proper comparison.”