FAQs

What will be provided on the Hemel Hempstead Hospital site?
The new West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust plans to open an Urgent Care Centre, treating minor illness and minor injuries on the Hemel Hempstead hospital site. Outpatients and diagnostic services and intermediate care services will also be provided here. In 2008 the new surgicentre, built and run by the private sector but staffed from West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, will open its doors to provide planned surgery.

If I have to visit hospital 12 times a year and I live in Hemel, will I have to go to Watford?
Not necessarily, a wide range of outpatients and diagnostic services will be provided on each of our hospital sites to ensure that patients who need to be seen regularly by a consultant or ‘specialist’ don’t have to travel too far.

Will it increase demands on ambulances?
No. The eight minute target for an ambulance to respond to a 999 call remains the same. We are working very closely with the new East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust to determine any likely increase or change to their current service. The ambulance service is clear that the reconfiguration of services will give clarity to crews, with a focus for all critical care support being in one location. 

If you transfer all A&E services to Watford General, what about the issue of traffic congestion the ambulance service and the public will incur trying to access the hospital?
The Trust recognises there are real concerns about access to Watford General Hospital. We do need to bear in mind that the majority of people using Hemel A&E, do so for minor injuries and minor illnesses – and these services will still be available on the Hemel site in the Urgent Care Centre. This also applies to the sorts of care that people come to the hospital sites for every day, for routine appointments, these will still take place at both Hemel and St Albans. 
In the case of critically ill patients and road traffic accidents, we need to be mindful, that emergency care begins when the ambulance professionals arrive with the patient and start treatment, and the ambulance service have indicated that they do not envisage a problem in achieving their required access times. We are working closely with the Ambulance Trust on any implications for their service, and with Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council to identify a way of easing the flow of traffic to the Watford site, as well as issues around public transport. What we must have is an A&E service in west Hertfordshire that has the necessary level of clinical support to ensure it gives the best possible service to patients.

Watford Football Club play only around 19 home matches each year and the Trust are working closely with the Club to minimise the disruption caused as a consequence.

What about the money that has already been spent on Hemel Hempstead Hospital – isn’t this a waste of money?
The investment in Hemel Hempstead General Hospital has already served the population of Hemel Hempstead very well and will continue to provide a range of health services such as urgent care, outpatients and diagnostics and in mid 2008, planned surgery will be provided from the proposed, purpose-built Surgicentre on the site. 

What is the timescale of the consultation?
The formal consultation began on 10 July and runs until 16 October 2006. The timescale for implementation will largely depend on which option is chosen, but we will move quickly to implementation as soon as an option has been agreed. If the outcome is to put planned surgery at the Hemel site, it will require more time to put these plans into action, as we need to bring two modular theatres to site, as well as some work on the current theatre suite. 

Pre-consultation events have already begun including a ‘deliberative event’ being held on 22 June at Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Watford, to which a diverse group of the Trust’s key stakeholders were invited to give their views on the proposed options and structure of the consultation process. 

Information about the consultation will be updated throughout and available on the West Herts Hospitals website www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk

If emergency care moves to Watford how can this work on a practical basis?
There are a few options to deliver the new build. Clearly there is more detailed planning required, but there are various pockets of space that have been identified on the site which could house the new modular buildings that we would need to deliver the additional bed capacity and the proposed Emergency Admissions Unit. There is an option of using the light wells of the Princess Michael of Kent Wing which would give significant benefits in terms of clinical adjacencies, but we need to explore all options that give us least disruption to continuing provision of care for patients. We are reviewing the existing space use - clinical / administration and support services, which is then likely to result in consolidation on the site. 

There has been discussion with individual clinical departments about their requirements for a consolidated service and this has informed the building/refurbishment solutions that are proposed. There will need to be phased refurbishments and the building programme tightly managed. We will be developing in more detail the high level plans about the space available on site to manage specific moves, i.e. the consolidation of the A&E department; the ITU department, the ward space requirements, movement of the Cardiac Cath Lab, MRI, clinical support services, administrative functions and office requirements.

What new build would be required at St Albans to enable increased elective (planned) operations/procedures?
There will need to be enhanced diagnostics facilities, the increase in outpatient activity may necessitate some minimal refurbishment and there is likely to be some investment required in the equipment/infrastructure to ensure the site can be used more intensively for day surgery and non-complex elective cases. The PCT also has plans for the site to be more intensively used as their diagnostic and treatment centre. 

Why can’t we stay as we are? 
No change is not an option. Achieving financial balance is non-negotiable. Our financial projection shows that if we stay as we are we will be in excess of £100m in debt within the next five years. This is untenable and we are in the Department of Health spotlight to turn this around. And these changes will also help improve patient care.

Would the implementation of these proposals prevent the private finance initiate (PFI) scheme going ahead at Watford? 
· If we remain in significant debt, the Trust will not be allowed to proceed to the next stage of the PFI process. 
· In moving towards financial balance and demonstrating a Trust with high performance standards, a grip on finances and changing clinical pathways for patients to achieve best practice, we put ourselves at the top of the list in terms of viability to find a financial investor for the new hospital. 
· In practical terms, the building works required will not impact on the land required for the new hospital. The new hospital is planned for further down the site. The project is predicated on ensuring that they DO NOT encroach on these space requirements. 

Will it increase the risk of MRSA?
No. Quite the contrary, as we are planning to build an assessment unit which will increase the number of single rooms in the modular building wherever possible and appropriate to both reduce the risk of cross infections and aid a speedy recovery for patients as they are less disturbed. There is no reason to think that it will increase the risk of MRSA. As part of the process of any moves or refurbishment of clinical areas, the operational policies will be reviewed and refined and close attention paid to infection control and clinical risk issues.