No new hospital for West Hertfordshire: The reaction

Health bosses announced yesterday evening that they would instead move forward with a scheme to re-develop St Albans and Watford hospitals.

Plans for a new hospital were drawn up in detail by hospital campaigners, but in a joint statement the Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG and West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust, claimed that the plans were too expensive.

The statement said: “Some stakeholders wanted us to pursue the option for a new hospital on a ‘greenfield’ site near junction 20 of the M25.

“Work we have carried out so far suggests that this would not be the best way forward either in terms of costs or other benefits such as travel times, but we are going to do some additional analysis in the coming weeks to review some of the data and costs in order to be sure we are right not to include this option in the next stage of the process.”

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: “I find this disgusting and ludicrous. They claim to have held a consultation, but the only voices they’ve listened to have been their own.

“They’ve even claimed that the new hospital option isn’t cost-effective, but they’ve made that decision while saying they still have to check their sums.

“Nothing to do with health provision in West Herts shocks me any more.”

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