| Welcome to Blueprint | | Welcome to March's edition of Blueprint!
This edition comes to you during the pre-election period, which used to be called ‘purdah’. During this time, ahead of the local elections on Thursday 4 May, public bodies refrain from making significant announcements or communicating on sensitive topics. On the New Hospital Programme (NHP), there have been no national announcements since the last edition of Blueprint but we hope to bring you news on this in the next one.
Work is continuing on ‘hospital 2.0’ which sets a standard to aspire to around aspects of design and construction. The NHP’s leadership team held a session to provide an update on the approach they are taking on standardisation. This is very much in line with our own thinking and we were pleased to see our ideas reflected in the designs that were shared. | | |
|
West Herts' chief executive gets top 50 rating within first year
We were delighted that our chief executive, Matthew Coats, was listed in the Health Service Journal’s ‘top 50 NHS chief executives'.
This is quite an achievement given that Matthew joined us just last July in his first NHS chief executive role.
Since he joined, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has won praise for its virtual hospital, accelerated its robot-assisted surgery programme and pressed on with its redevelopment plans. The trust has also secured funding to deliver additional diagnostic services and planned surgery and is on target to break even at the end of this month.
HSJ’s editor Alastair McLellan, said: “Matthew’s inclusion in the top 50 after just eight months as a chief executive is highly unusual and a tribute to the example he has already set and the impact that judges expect him to have on the trust’s performance."
Congratulations Matthew! Read more in our news release here.
|
|
|
Alex White joins us in April as our chief redevelopment officer
We are excited that Alex White will join West Herts as chief redevelopment officer at the beginning of April.
Alex has more than 20 years’ experience on capital projects in the health sector and has most recently led on the delivery of the new Children’s Hospital in Cambridge. Prior to this, he was a key part of the team which created proton beam facilities in London and Manchester.
Other projects in Alex’s career include a new wing at Guy’s Hospital in London and a pathology joint venture between University College London and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
His expertise will help us drive our redevelopment forward as we continue to pursue the approvals and funding needed to turn our plans into a reality.
We look forward to welcoming Alex to West Herts.
|
|
| And finally... | | We would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Easter. We'd also like to thank all our staff and volunteers for their hard work so far in 2023, and especially to those working over the Easter period. | | | Catch up with redevelopment news | Blueprint - You can read past editions of the Blueprint newsletter on our website. 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. | |
|
