According to health chief Paul Burstow, development on the new Watford General Hospital could begin before 2032.
On Monday (January 20), the government announced a new timeline for delivering new hospitals through the New Hospital Programme.
Although work was expected to begin at Watford General as early as this year (2025), the hospital was moved to the second wave, with construction set to begin between 2032 and 2034.
However, at a meeting of the Hertfordshire Growth Board, Mr Burstow, chairman of the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (HWEICB), highlighted “encouraging” facts that had emerged since the announcement.
He pointed out that, unlike some other plans, Watford was allowed to continue with enabling works while maintaining a project team. He said that there could be “a route to getting a hospital faster than the announcement on Monday.”
Mr Burstow emphasized the hospital’s “advanced state” plan, ownership of the land, and ability to move forward with enabling works. All of this, he argued, insured that if an earlier slot became available, the scheme could move forward more quickly.
“That may feel like we are clinging to a little bit of hope there,” he acknowledged. “And I have to add that I recognise that and understand how people react to it. But I believe that based on the discussions we’ve had, there is a way to have a hospital sooner than the Monday announcement.”
Mr Burstow commented on the government’s announcement, stating that “the redevelopment will go ahead.” He agreed that the Trust and the larger NHS family in Hertfordshire had hoped for an earlier slot, but claimed that public funding restrictions had played a role. He also highlighted that there was more clarity about the programming and sequencing than in the preceding New Hospital Programme.
However, Watford Mayor Peter Taylor stated during the meeting that serious questions needed to be answered about why Watford was so far down the list.
“I think there is a real danger that we just accept the government’s narrative that there is constraints on public finance,” he told CNN. “I don’t necessarily believe what the government says. Even with public funding limits, the announcement on Monday was that we will be ranked 24th out of 40 hospitals. And I believe we must ask some serious questions about why we believe we should be so far behind when there is a scheme there with land available, outline planning permission, and better access – when the existing hospital is collapsing and we are told we need tens of millions of pounds in repairs. So I don’t believe we should classify such an announcement as encouraging. The people I’ve spoken with at the hospital do not find it encouraging. And, if we accept the story of public funding restrictions, why do we believe we should be near the end of the queue for the New Hospital Programme?
In response, Mr Burstow stated that he did not disagree with Mayor Taylor’s statements. He continued, “After watching the statement on Monday, my natural and immediate emotion was disappointment, as was that of many others. However, my duty as head of an Integrated Care Board, which is part of the NHS, is to determine how we can carry this forward. And I believe it is critical that we continue to receive the support and challenge of our local government partners. Because that public challenge and what our political leaders can say – which those of us who work in the NHS cannot always say – is a critical part of creating the right conditions and level of pressure to ensure that we get what we need, which is a new hospital in Watford.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, the Liberal Democrat leader of Three Rivers District Council, stated that the NHS timetable did not take into account the long-term view. He cited thousands of new homes that may be developed in west Hertfordshire if government housing targets are satisfied. He also mentioned the age of the existing structures and the use of portable cottages on the site, implying that the delay would incur additional costs.
“Those buildings will not last another nine years, so I wonder actually how much extra expenditure is going to have to be spent before we actually get the new build,” he told me. “And perhaps that requires a fresh piece of work to be done. Actually, you might save a lot of the extra expenditures if you did it sooner. This is a false savings, deferring this.”
Mr Burstow brought up the hospital news at the Hertfordshire Growth Board meeting on Wednesday (January 22), as part of a presentation on the Board’s ‘Healthy and Safe Places for All Mission’.
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