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 | | Welcome to your January edition of Blueprint | Since receiving the good news that funding is in place for us to continue work on our outline business case (OBC), our programme team is working hard on the next steps to delivering new and better hospital buildings. As part of the OBC we are required to present several options, with a varying degree of retained and new buildings.
In May, our Trust Board will approve recommended preferred options for all of our three hospital sites. A very detailed cost benefit analysis (called the CIAM) will underpin our recommended preferred options. This will essentially identify the options that provide the best overall balance between clinical and other benefits, compared with upfront investment and lifetime costs. We will then put these options forward to the New Hospital Programme and Treasury later in the year in our OBC. This will also include a range of technical information such as implementation timelines and plans and how we will manage and deliver the programme.
We are keen that our preferred option includes as much new build as possible at our existing site at Watford General (and on adjacent land). Evidence so far, as we carry out detailed costing, suggests that the best use of public money is to demolish the main block (PMoK) and replace it rather than refurbish it.
For our hospitals in St Albans and Hemel Hempstead there will be a mix of refurbishment and new build. Our new and refurbished buildings will look and feel very different. Whilst our priority is for the best clinical outcomes, there will also be an emphasis on creating healing and pleasant environments and integrating the latest technology.
In the meantime, things aren’t standing still. We continue to engage patients and stakeholders in the key issues surrounding our hospital redevelopment – read on for opportunities to get involved.
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| Find out more about the OBC and updated timelines | | For an update on current timescales, and to learn about the OBC process in more detail, join our Stakeholder Reference Group session on Thursday 10th March 12-1pm. We will be contacting Stakeholder Reference Group members with further details, but the session is open to anyone on our Blueprint mailing list. If you would like to attend, please contact westherts.redevelopment@nhs.net. | | | New appointments to the New Hospital Programme Team | | The New Hospital Programme team has a revised executive team structure which includes the appointment of Morag Stuart as the new Chief Programme Officer, reporting to Senior Responsible Owner Natalie Forrest. This appointment brings additional expertise as the programme continues to focus on the delivery of 48 schemes by the end of 2030 (but please remember that our plans are for completion before this date – pathfinder trusts are expected to be ready sooner). | | | An update on travel and access | |  | Last November we held our first Travel and Access reference group meeting. The meeting was informative, with all the attendees getting involved in lively discussion about getting to and around our hospital sites.
We have now published a summary of the discussion on our website along with some participants' comments from the breakout sessions. We will be holding further sessions on this topic, which are open to patients and carers who have recently visited our hospitals. To find out more or to sign up to be invited to the next meeting contact westherts.redevelopment@nhs.net. | | |  | | Green Plan for our hospitals | | Work has continued on our Green Plan, which will be available on our website as part of our published Board Papers (see page 343). The plan sets out our ambitions to become one of the greenest trusts in the NHS. From this, we will develop a Green Travel Plan, detailing the actions we can take to encourage more sustainable forms of travel.
We are commissioning a specialist transport consultancy to help us pick up the pace on issues such as investigating park and ride opportunities and helping us in the final stages of getting the new multi-storey car park fully operational. | | | | Join our topic group discussions on hospital buildings and services | Are you interesting in learning more about the latest thinking on our hospital redevelopment plans? Do you want to give your views on what you think is important for our buildings and services?
We will be running engagement sessions over the coming months and would welcome your contribution. Topics will include virtual consultations and virtual care, as well as the design principles which will underpin our plans.
We want to make sure these sessions offer the opportunity for interesting discussion and to hear from diverse and representative voices. To express your interest in joining please get in touch. Some of these sessions may be more relevant than others depending on your interests and background, so we will contact you with the session details and dates as they are set and you can book to attend those that interest you.
Note: our decision to retain our three sites was made some time ago, so whilst we welcome engagement, we respectfully ask that contributions reflect the current position. | |  | | Moving with modern healthcare | | Our clinical strategy 2021-26 sets out how we will build on the progress we have already made to improve services and care for our patients, and deliver local and national priorities for the NHS. It outlines how we will transform services so that we are ready to deliver 21st century healthcare from 21st century buildings. There is a summary version on our website, along with a short film to help bring it to life. Two areas where we are currently transforming the way patient care is delivered are patient initiated follow up and virtual hospitals.
Patient initiated follow-up (PIFU) is now live in a range of specialities, including diabetes and women’s health. PIFU gives patients and their carers the option to arrange their own follow-up appointments as and when they need them (traditionally these have been initiated by the doctor or nurse providing the treatment). Patients can choose whether to participate in PIFU, which empowers them to manage their own condition and enables shared decision-making with clinicians. Work is underway to roll out PIFU in other areas where it is clinically appropriate and will benefit patients, such as ophthalmology and gastroenterology.
We have also been working on expanding the model which was successful for the COVID virtual hospital. The initial focus will be on supporting early discharge and reducing the length of stay for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure patients, enabling them to receive monitoring and treatment from the comfort of their own home. To find out more, you can watch a video where our respiratory consultant Dr Andrew Barlow talks about how virtual hospitals work. View the engagement session (run in June 2021 by the South and West Herts Health and Care Partnership) here. Go to the 20 minute mark or watch the whole session for patient questions and thoughts on this new way of providing hospital care. | | | | What’s going on in healthcare in Herts? |
- Are you interested in keeping up-to-date with local health services? Why not sign up to the Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group newsletter? Go to ‘sign up for more information and updates’ at the bottom of Herts Valleys CCG home page.
- Have your say about Hertfordshire’s new Health and Wellbeing strategy. The strategy aims to improve the health of Hertfordshire residents and is being renewed to make sure it reflects current health needs in the county. You can give your feedback by 13 February at: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/HWBStrategy
- Do you feel your race or ethnicity sometimes affect the quality of healthcare you receive? Healthwatch Hertfordshire have launched a survey asking for people of Black, Asian and Arab origin to share their views and experiences of local health services. To get involved, you can complete the anonymous survey or contact info@healthwatchhertfordshire.co.uk to participate in an interview or focus group.
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| Catch up with redevelopment news | Blueprint - You can now read past editions of the Blueprint newsletter on our website under ‘newsletters’. Share the news and get your colleagues and friends to subscribe by emailing westherts.redevelopment@nhs.net
A-Z information sheet - This document addresses frequently asked questions and the main themes from our engagement and redevelopment programme. It will be updated regularly and we will provide details of where information has been added or amended. | |
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