Campaigners criticise survey by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Campaigners have criticised a survey which claimed to give people their say on new hospital buildings in west Hertfordshire.

The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) says the online survey by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust was 'rushed, flawed and biased' and was 'unfairly designed' to favour redevelopment at Watford General Hospital.

The survey is due to be a key part of the evidence at a decisive joint meeting of the Trust and Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group on the redevelopment of local hospitals on October 1.

The trust has drawn up a shortlist of redevelopment options which only focuses on redeveloping its existing sites in the three areas it covers, Hemel Hempstead, Watford and St Albans.

Read: Hemel Hempstead MP seeks urgent meeting over new site options for hospital redevelopmentThe West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust could have up to £590million to invest in facilities.

The NHC are campaigning for a new A+E hospital on a clear central site convenient for all of West Hertfordshire, but the draft shortlist drawn up by the Trust has no fewer than six options at Vicarage Road in Watford – and none anywhere else.

The Trust’s recommended preferred option includes some new building on the fringes of the current Vicarage Road site.

The NHC say the Trust’s online survey:

- Fails to provide the public with genuine options - it was published the same day as the narrow draft shortlist;

- Was hastily put on the Trust website and gave respondents just 11 days to complete it;

- Is wide open to manipulation because the online form can be filled in multiple times by the same person at the same computer;

- Contains leading questions encouraging the public to support options at Vicarage Road.

The Campaign claims that the survey is a self-selection exercise which can only reflect the views of those who happen to find out about it – so cannot be representative of the opinions of the people of West Herts.

A spokesperson for the NHC said: "Research by the NHC reveals that the ‘survey tool’ used by the Trust is designed only to support ‘stakeholder engagement’ – it is not intended to assess public opinion.

"There are also concerns that the survey could enable the Trust to identify NHS workers who fill it in.

"The NHC point out that the information provided by the Trust with the survey fails to give the full picture.

"A major part of the evidence for the decisive October 1 meeting is a Site Study which is described as ‘independent’ by the Trust.

"But the Study was drawn up largely by a company wholly-owned by London’s Royal Free Hospital, which has a close and developing partnership with the West Herts Trust."

NHC member Jean Ritchie said: "The Site Study purports to give an independent technical assessment of the various options for the new hospital facilities, but it contains a number of flaws and doesn’t mention the key fact that there is a close relationship between West Herts Trust and the Royal Free.

"That all casts doubt on the quality and independence of the process.

"We are coming to the crunch point for the future of hospital services in West Herts. The October 1 meeting will decide on the shortlist for redevelopment.

"If the Trust try to make out that this inadequate, easily-manipulated survey truly represents the views of the people of West Herts, the whole process will be in crisis, with the credibility of the local NHS leadership in tatters."

The West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust say over 3,000 completed the survey.

Helen Brown, WHHT deputy chief executive, said: “We were really pleased to get such a good response to our survey, with more than 3,000 people completing it.

"We have been engaging with local people about the potential changes to our services and buildings set out in the proposed shortlist via a reference group, a newsletter and email updates.

"The survey was another part of our engagement activity and was intended to draw out views from communities we had not heard from.

"We also wanted to give staff the opportunity to comment on the proposed shortlist.

"It is clear that many people have taken time to read the briefing note and provide feedback and we are grateful to everyone who took the time to complete it.

"The responsibility for approving the shortlist rests with the boards of West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust and Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group and is informed – but not determined by – local public opinion.

"Our board members are charged with making the decision on new hospital facilities and they will be considering a range of reports in addition to the survey feedback when they approve a shortlist on October 1.

"The views of senior clinicians will also play an important part in this meeting.

"The survey provided ample opportunity for respondents to express their views on our proposed shortlist and recommended preferred option. It was timed to follow the publication of the proposed shortlist and for the results to be analysed and made available as part of our board papers.

"The number of responses suggests that plenty of people were aware of it.

"We were aware that some people might respond to our survey more than once but this risk was outweighed by our wish to have feedback on our shortlist as part of our engagement.

"Having reviewed the results there is no evidence that this has happened to any extensive degree.

"The survey results have given us much rich feedback and we are not unduly concerned by a small number of duplicate responses.

"The survey feedback has helped us to understand the differing views of communities; not just geographically but in terms of ethnicity, age and also between those who work for the trust and those who don’t.

"It also provides valuable insight into any concerns that local people have about our proposed redevelopment plans.

"A summary of the findings from the survey will be published with our board papers later this week.”

Read: Hemel Hempstead MP rows with health chiefs over future of Watford HospitalRead: NHS boss sets 2025 deadline for west Herts hospitals development