Watford mayor wants answers over Watford General delay

Have you visited Watford General Hospital recently? I meet people all the time who tell me the same story – wonderful staff doing their best for patients in terrible conditions. NHS figures suggest that there is a repairs backlog at the hospital that would cost £60million to fix.

It was consequently upsetting to read that the government has decided to delay the hospital’s rebuilding for seven to nine years.

Because of this delay, a child born today at Watford General Hospital will attend secondary school before any new facilities open. Labour ministers have determined that 23 of the ’40 new hospital’ projects should be funded before we do.
The government’s lack of commitment to this critical investment is deeply regrettable. Labour MPs assured us that they would make this important investment during the General Election.

The government must explain how they made this choice. I wrote to the Minister of Health to question why Watford General has not been prioritized and is so far down the list of projects that would receive funds. We’ve also started a petition asking the government to rethink, which you can sign here: https://www.watfordlibdems.org/our-campaigns/rebuild-watford-general

We are all aware of the critical need to repair Watford General. There is land available for the construction of additional facilities, and outline planning approval has been given, with specific plans agreed upon. It is time to move forward with these upgrades rather than putting the project on hold for a decade.

Patients, staff, and tourists should no longer have to tolerate substandard health facilities.