Survey suggests lack of public support for hospital plans in west Hertfordshire

The New Hospital Campaign Group, which is calling for a hospital to be built on a new central site, says the findings of a survey proves a "complete reassessment of the project is urgently needed".

A total of 1,665 people responded to West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust's public engagement survey in February and March, and fewer than ten per cent were "completely positive" about the trust's plans to rebuild Watford General.

Ron Glatter, spokesperson for the campaign group, said: “This survey shows the depth of the crisis of confidence which faces the trust. It is doubly disturbing, revealing not only that many people are unhappy with the present environment at Watford General, but that the trust’s expensive and impractical plans for the future inspire little faith in many west Herts people.”

The Timmus Report, commissioned by the trust, reveals that respondents have concerns about accessibility to Watford, including parking, public transport, and traffic congestion.

Read: Construction of new Watford General Hospital multi-storey car park underway

The hospital was also described as "extremely rundown, unclean, unattractive, hard to access and disorganised".

There is also an "uncertainty" about the meaning of the trust’s planned so-called 'three-site model' which is supposed to share improved services between Watford, Hemel Hempstead Hospital and St Albans City Hospital.

Residents of St Albans, Three Rivers, Watford and other areas across Hertfordshire felt, on average, that most of the redevelopment plans "sounded appropriate" but residents of Dacorum who responded to this survey were "significantly more negative".

The highest frequency of negative comments came from respondents living in Dacorum (37 per cent) while Watford at 17 per cent recorded the lowest.

The average opinion of residents from Dacorum was 'no, very few of the plans sound appropriate', which was a "significantly lower opinion" than the rest of west Hertfordshire.

Of the 1,665 people who took part in the survey, 619 were from Dacorum, which includes Hemel Hempstead, which is more than any other area.

NHS staff were of the opinion "most of the plans sound appropriate".

Read: Watford General and West Herts' hospital redevelopment 'likely to cost more than £590 million'

Twenty-six percent of comments mentioned a desire to have a new hospital built on a new site, with 39 per cent of those from residents in Dacorum and 13 per cent from Watford.

All in all, fewer than 10 per cent of comments made in the survey were "completely positive and raised no concerns at all" about the investment proposals.

Mr Glatter said: "The 'three site model' phrase is designed to give a false impression of the relative importance attached to the hospitals, and that they might all be given a significant upgrade through the redevelopment. That simply won’t happen, and people in much of West Herts are beginning to realise that."

He concluded: "All in all, the public have delivered a stunningly negative verdict on the stewardship of the trust and their plans for the future. Action is needed now to put this right.

"The option of building a new hospital on a clear central site, along with good facilities in all three towns, must be properly and honestly explored."

Concept showing the three proposed blocks alongside the new multi-storey car park under construction. Credut: West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

See more: Watford MP: Let's back rebuild of Watford General

The trust has been given two main recommendations by Dr Tabetha Newman, of Timmus Research Limited, and author of the report.

The first is to repeat some of the key survey questions in order to collect the opinions of a "stratified random sample of people who represent the background population characteristics of west Hertfordshire".

The trust has also been recommended to carry out further research on the issues associated with travel to and from Watford General, as well as Hemel Hempstead and St Albans City hospitals.

In particular, there should be a "specific focus on better understanding the types and severity of congestion" immediately around the Watford General site, and identifying the current problems involved with travelling from areas outside Watford.

A trust spokesperson said: "Our public engagement is still ongoing and we will report on what we have heard from the communities we serve at the July board meeting.

"We are very grateful to everyone who has been involved so far. The information on our website has been well received and we would urge people to take a look and find out more about the proposals for our services at https://www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/about/redevelopment."