Campaign group lose judicial review claim over hospital redevelopment

A high court judge has dismissed claims that Herts Valleys CCG was unlawful in its decision-making process around the redevelopment of hospital buildings in west Hertfordshire.

In the summer of 2019 a judicial review claim was submitted by a Hemel Hempstead resident on behalf of a group of campaigners.

The New Hospital Campaign Group (NHC), which is fighting for a new hospital to be built on a site central to Hemel Hempstead, Watford and St Albans, had questioned whether the option of a new purpose-built hospital was fully and fairly considered in early stages of the redevelopment consultation process.

The claimant alleged that decisions the CCG made in that year to agree a shortlist of sites - and then the preferred option - for the redevelopment of hospital buildings in west Hertfordshire were unlawful.

The basis for claiming that the decisions were unlawful was the lack of formal public consultation.

The conclusion reached by the judge, following a high court hearing at the end of October, is that both of the CCG’s decisions were lawful, and the judge has dismissed the claim.

A spokesperson for Herts Valleys CCG said: "The judge’s ruling states that we fulfilled our legal duty to involve the public and a formal consultation was not required.

"We were therefore acting perfectly legally in the decisions we took.

"Colleagues at West Hertfordshire NHS Hospitals Trust will press on with the work they have been doing, with full support from the CCG, to develop proposals as outlined to our boards in October, and discussed with local people throughout this period.

"We will be doing more in the coming months, building on the extensive engagement already undertaken, to involve local residents in working up the detail for our next submission to regulators and government.

"We all look forward very much to bringing those plans to fruition - in new hospital buildings on the current Watford site and with significant investment on the St Albans and Hemel Hempstead sites."

The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) says it will continue the battle to secure a new A+E hospital in west Hertfordshire despite the High Court judge's decision.

A spokesperson for the group said: "The High Court did acknowledge that the NHC was not given access to the full calculations and projections used to estimate the cost of the new build options, and recognised that NHC’s contribution to the debate about the rejection of those options could have been more fully informed than it was, had the NHC and others been given that information or if our requests for meetings with the local health bodies had been granted.

"Regrettably, the High Court concluded that the legal duty was simply to “involve” the public, and not formally consult them, so such deficiencies did not amount to legal errors.

"However, the High Court remarked that the 2019 decisions were not set in stone and the financial position may have altered since then.

"It further repeated the principle of public importance that decision makers arrive at decisions lawfully and are held to account by the court if they do not, which of course applies to any future decisions made about hospital redevelopment plans."

The NHC spokesperson added: “Of course we are surprised and disappointed by the judge’s decision but it’s vital to understand this was not about whether it is better to keep patching up the current Vicarage Road site in Watford or to go for a central, clear site for a new hospital fit for the coming decades.

"It was purely about the process used to reach two decisions that were made a year and a half ago.

"The processes used by the local health bodies in the next decision stage in 2020 have been even more deficient but they could not feature in the legal case."

The NHC recently commissioned an independent report from a specialist construction specialist. The group says his report shows that building on a fresh central site would be far quicker than making the kinds of improvements the West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT) have in mind at the Vicarage Road site. Read full story here.The NHC spokesperson added: "We would like to thank all those members of the public who donated to our crowdfund for the legal case in 2019.

"In October of that year the High Court gave us permission to proceed with the challenge which showed there was a case to answer.

"We are very pleased that the two-day hearing last October could be viewed remotely by all interested members of the public.

“There has not been a full public consultation about hospital redevelopment in our area since 2007. We need one now, and it must include new site options.

"A substantial majority of the respondents to the Trust’s online survey last September disagreed with the proposed short list which excluded all new site options.

"Building on the existing site will involve years of disruption just when we are trying to recover from the pandemic.

"A solution based on a clear site in a central, accessible location would be so much quicker and safer as well as providing much greater flexibility for the future."

The MP for Hemel Hempstead, Sir Mike Penning, has also expressed his disappointment at the High Court ruling on the New Hospital Campaign’s judicial review.

He said: “I am extremely sad and disappointed that the High Court has ruled against the New Hospital Campaign’s contention that the Herts Valleys CCG was unlawful in failing to consult the public on its decision to reject a new hospital option. The ruling stated that the Trust is only required to ‘involve’ the public and not ‘consult’.

“I pay tribute to the incredible amount of work put into this judicial review by local hospital campaigners and thank them and everyone who helped fund this campaign.

“Whilst this is disappointing, this is not the end of the road. It is blatantly obvious that a new hospital on a new site is the right solution for the whole of West Hertfordshire.

"Not only from the point of view of accessibility, but I do believe that it will be cheaper and easier. Rebuilding at Watford whilst trying to keep the hospital fully operational will be a nightmare.

“We all know that once they start to rebuild at Watford they will discover ‘unforeseen’ problems that will lead to delays, asbestos will be found where it is not expected, telecoms and electricity hubs will need to be rerouted. All this will inevitably lead to additional delays and costs.

“Ambulances will be competing with lorries to get to the site. Noise and dust will be very upsetting and harmful for patients. It would be so much easier to build on a new site.

“It is so frustrating that common sense has been thrown out the window for no obvious good reason. We will not give up the fight.”