Agenda item

Representatives of West Herts Teaching Hospital Trust to make a presentation to the committee about the hospital redevelopment.

The committee received a presentation by Alex White, Chief Redevelopment    Officer and Toby Hyde, Chief Strategy and Collaboration Officer of West Herts Teaching Hospital Trust. The presentation covered the agenda, approach and model of care to be implemented in the new hospital.

Responding to a question about the impact of inflation,it was noted that the project had been modelled to 2028 on a mid-point and included inflationary considerations. The programme had been allocated the required funding.  Any potential change in government could not be predicted but the Treasury had committed to the project. The next stage was to have the outline business case approved.  The contingency was to maintain the current estate to a good standard, as it needed to operate for at least five more years.

Comparing Watford to other new hospital programmes, members were advised there was not necessarily a priority order but this project was more ready than others in line for funding. There were no issues with RAAC in the estate. One advantage of the Watford programme was that it would be a single-phase development once the pathology department had been relocated, other projects would require a phased approach to decant facilities due to the development footprint.

Turning to stakeholder engagement, the committee were reassured that the trust was committed to ongoing engagement both formally and informally to obtain meaningful feedback. It was further noted that good access arrangements were in place for the construction. Thomas Sawyer Way would remain the access for emergency vehicles and potentially construction traffic with a traffic management plan and a blue light plan in place. Further discussions were required with Watford Borough Council about one piece of land. There was ongoing dialogue with neighbours and the Considerate Contractors scheme would be in place.

New models of care would be in place to enable a smooth transition. Staff had become used to working in sub-standard facilities and discussions were taking place about what was needed in the new facility for the best outcomes. Patient flows were being built in with a higher number of single beds which reduced the length of stay and improved infection control. The facility was designed to be future-proof, building digital infrastructure into the hospital to improve patient outcomes.

The services at the hospitals in Hemel Hempstead and St Albans would also be reimagined as part of the programme; it was unlikely that staff or patients would routinely require transport between the sites.  Other local hospitals provided a shuttle service from the nearest station and the trust was amenable to this suggestion.

The plan for the remaining estate was to provide key worker accommodation, other uses were subject to further consultation but could include space for biosciences and other healthcare amenities once the site had been vacated and demolished.

The Portfolio Holder asked about the confidence level that the business case would be approved and other major threats were overcome. The trust remained extremely confident and felt that the key threats were political.

The committee thanked the team for their presentation.

                    RESOLVED –

That the trust provides a written update on progress in six months’ time and returns to the committee for a formal update in 12 months.