The GP led Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group have agreed to take more time before approving the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s Strategic Outline Case, which includes proposals to eliminate a new build hospital on a greenfield site from their proposed options.

The Herts Valley CCG board met on 9th March to consider the proposals approved and submitted by the Watford based Hospital Trust. The Hospital Trust proposals include plans to rebuild and refurbish the Watford Hospital for acute and A&E services and to refurbish and rebuild St Albans Hospital for planned and elective surgery.

The Dacorum Hospital Group ‘New Hospital Campaign’, supported by Hemel Hempstead MP, Mike Penning, have submitted a detailed report which challenges many of the assumptions made in the proposals and reiterates their view that the unbiased facts support a new build greenfield option as the most viable and advantageous one.

The GP led CCG decided to pause in order to give time to review aspects of the activity assumptions and the affordability of the Strategic Outline Case from their perspective.

Mike Penning MP commented:

“I am pleased that our local GPs and the Commissioning Group have decided to pause and delay the decision to approve the proposed plans. NHS England have already been made aware of the lunacy of ignoring a new build hospital on a greenfield site and of the flaws in the arguments put forward against it. I have made my opposition to basing our long term acute hospital facilities in Watford widely known.

“I reiterate my view that for the benefit of all the residents of west Hertfordshire, Watford as well as Hemel Hempstead and St Albans, a new purpose built state of the art, modern hospital in a central location on an available low cost site by the M25 is the best option. At the same time Herts Valleys CCG have received some further information from the Dacorum Hospital Group and I have been assured by the CCG that they will feedback their responses to the group and to me.”