Keir Starmer responds to Hemel Hempstead Health campus proposals request
The prime minister has said that he hopes a public consultation will help “ensure the strongest investment case is put forward” for a new health campus in Hemel Hempstead town centre.
Sir Keir Starmer was responding to a question from David Taylor, Hemel Hempstead’s Labour MP, at Prime Minister’s Questions today.
Mr Taylor had said: “The proposed Hemel Health Campus, a partnership between the NHS and the local [borough] council, presents a perfect opportunity to deliver on Labour’s commitment to neighbourhood-based care, bringing services closer to where people live in facilities designed around their needs.
“It can also help to regenerate our town centre.
“Does the prime minister agree with me that it is essential that all stakeholders involved in the project are as ambitious as possible and work to deliver a community hospital that builds on the services currently available and reflects the evolving needs of our town?”
In response, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Can I pay tribute to how [David Taylor] is bringing people together to deliver better care in the community that meets the needs of his constituents.
“The proposals for the health campus will be open to public consultation.
“I’d urge the whole community to input into that to ensure the strongest investment case is put forward.
“I’m pleased that waiting lists in his local trust have fallen by a fifth since March 2024 because of the investment that we’ve put into the NHS.”
In February, a feasibility study concluded that there is a “strong strategic case” for the Health Campus proposals, which could see services moved from Hemel Hempstead Hospital to a new centre at Market Square.
The campus could also offer GP and community health services.
A new outline case will be put together by the end of 2025, considering options for the proposed campus’s location and details of the services that will be provided.
After Prime Minister’s Questions, David Taylor said: “This project is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform healthcare in our town.
“We must not settle for the minimum; residents deserve a campus that acts as a proper community hospital that reflects the needs of our growing and changing population.
“I am holding to account the key decision makers to ensure this project is as ambitious as possible.”
He said he is pushing the campus to include diagnostic services, 24/7 triage, minor procedure facilities, mental health and wellbeing services, care for vulnerable patients and step-down and rehabilitation wards.
The Liberal Democrat leader of Dacorum Borough Council, Councillor Sally Symington, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’re excited by the progress of the project.
“The new health campus would improve the health and wellbeing of our communities by providing healthcare services, a range of clinical facilities and other NHS services into a purpose-built and accessible facility.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with our partners to progress this project further.”
The project is also being worked on by West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board.