The redevelopment plans we are now implementing are part of proposals approved by the Trust Board in May 2022. We ran an extensive engagement exercise as part of developing those proposals.

This section provides an archive of various documents and engagement events that were part of developing the clinical model for services across our three sites.

2025

NHP announced Watford General Hospital build as in Wave 2 (build commencement 2031/32) – being kept ‘development ready’​.

2024

Outline Business Case produced and RIBA 2 design​.

2023

Full funding confirmed. Incorporation of initial New Hospital Programme (NHP) assumptions. 

2022

Preferred option confirmed. Draft chapters published with confirmed preferred option and our clinical brief. 

2021

Public engagement exercise run to help design how services should be provided across our different sites. The Trust published a five-year clinical strategy as part of developing the proposals.

Your care, your views was an engagement exercise run in 2021 to help design how services should be provided across our different sites.

Key documents used in that engagement were the:

We ran a series on online meetings, recordings are grouped together in a playlist on our YouTube channel.

The trust published a five-year clinical strategy as part of developing the proposals.

2020

Outline Business Case (OBC) shortlist created. Permission to move away from the financial cap and replace our main building.

An initial version of the Outline Business Case was developed with a shortlist of options and a recommended preferred option with a new build at Watford General for specialist and emergency services, and a mix of refurbishment and rebuild at St Albans and Hemel Hempstead.

The preferred option was approved by the Trust Board on 31 May 2022. View the meeting papers.

2019

Strategic Outline Case (SOC) created. Updated business case to reflect financial cap.

In 2017 we started work on a Strategic Outline Case with local commissioners (then Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group). An original SOC was submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement for comment and then updated further.

The boards of West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust and the CCG met together on 6 June 2019 to discuss four shortlisted options for hospital redevelopment and to reach agreement on the emerging preferred way forward for securing major investment in local hospital facilities. Both boards provided indicative support for option one. This option would see all three existing hospital sites retained and developed. The redevelopment described in option one formed the basis of the draft strategic outline case (SOC) document.

On 11 July 2019, the WHHT board met and approved a strategic outline case detailing a way forward based on option one from a shortlist of four that have been through a detailed evaluation process. The Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group board met that afternoon to consider the proposed way forward and endorsed the trust board’s decision.

2015-16

Widespread public engagement regarding future of healthcare provision in West Herts.

2014

No new build in Watford. Temporary buildings added to manage growing demand.

2007-09

First plan for the site identities: Watford – emergency care, St Albans – planned care, Hemel closing its ED. Watford to be rebuilt under PFI by 2014.

1990s

First discussions on how the health service should be delivered in West Herts.

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