Hemel Hempstead health campus in jeopardy over funding issues NHS trust warns
Securing capital funding for a new health centre in Hemel Hempstead is an ongoing risk to the project’s future, according to a report from an NHS trust.
The board of West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust met on March 12, where members reviewed items listed on the trust’s corporate risk register.
Among the risks was the ‘route to capital funding’ for the Hemel Health Campus, which was colour-coded as amber – meaning a “high” risk.
The corporate risk register noted: “If the routes to capital funding for the Hemel Health Campus (HHC) and the required approvals from NHS England and HM Treasury are not confirmed, and robust public engagement is not completed, then the organisation may be unable to deliver the long-term goal of constructing the new Hemel Health Campus.
“[This would] result in no long-term solution for healthcare services in Hemel Hempstead, continued deterioration of the existing Hemel Hempstead Hospital estate, worsening patient and staff experience, and an inability to fully deliver the Clinical Strategy.”
The report states there have been engagement meetings with NHS England’s East of England regional team, as well as discussions of funding streams.
It also notes that there has been positive public engagement, with over 8,000 visits to a dedicated microsite, with 750 people responding to an online survey and 400 people attending seven information events in person, plus one online consultation.
However, the report also notes ‘gaps in controls’, which include “confirmation of steps and timelines for approval from NHS England and HM Treasury” as well as the route for prospective funding.
Plans for a health centre in Hemel Hempstead have been long in the making. Dacorum Borough Council previously carried out a feasibility study for a new facility as an alternative to redeveloping the hospital.
After the borough council’s study made positive findings, West Herts NHS Trust and Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) came on board to support the scheme. The three organisations have jointly commissioned a Strategic Outline Case (SOC).
The SOC explores five options for the new health campus. These options range in scale from the minimum – the BAU (comparator) option, which would see a new health campus handling only ‘backlog maintenance risks’ – to the maximum option of a fully developed health campus site on Market Square, with only the Verulam wing of the hospital retained for services such as the mortuary.
A report from last September to Herts County Council’s health scrutiny committee stated: “Development of a new town centre health campus would entail the relocation of existing outpatient, diagnostic and urgent care services currently provided at Hemel Hempstead Hospital.
“The health campus option will suggest alternatives for the provision of the rehabilitation beds currently located at the hospital. It will also set out how GP and mental health and community services could work together within the health campus as outlined above.”
A West Herts Teaching Hospital NHS Trust spokesman said: “The proposed Neighbourhood Health Centre (Hemel Health Campus) would bring together hospital services, GP services, mental health care, social care, wellbeing support, and community health services in a new facility in Hemel Hempstead town centre.
“The proposal is being developed following national guidance for major public projects. This involves a three‑stage business case process: Strategic Outline Case, Outline Business Case, and Full Business Case, which helps ensure that decisions about funding and investment are based on clear evidence.
“The project is currently at the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) stage. At the SOC stage, every case is dependent on securing funding before it can move forward.
“Proposals include a blended funding model, combining NHS capital, local authority borrowing, and potential private‑sector involvement.
“These funding routes are still high‑level assumptions and won’t be confirmed until the Outline Business Case (OBC) stage.
“Recording the risk in the corporate risk register ensures it stays visible, is actively monitored, and has clear ownership as the business case develops.”