| Welcome to Blueprint | | Welcome to April’s edition of Blueprint!
We are still in the pre-election period, so we don’t yet have a funding decision for our overall plans. However, we do have some information you might find interesting in terms of updates on works at Watford General and St Albans City hospitals.
In other news, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) team has been very busy refining its processes and sharing its thinking. We’ve attended workshops on design and costing and were pleased that what we saw and heard was very much in line with how we have been working.
Previous newsletters have previewed the arrival of Alex White, who has now taken up his role as chief redevelopment officer. More on him and other leadership roles can be found at the end of this newsletter. | | |
 | | Exciting new developments at St Albans City Hospital | Plans to provide more diagnostic and surgical facilities at St Albans City Hospital are starting to take shape. Enabling works are underway in preparation for our main contractor who will be creating the new buildings on this site that are due to open in 2024.
The new diagnostic and surgical facilities will include a further three operating theatres and an additional procedure room.
The work to create these new facilities will create some inconvenience in access and parking. In addition, there has been – and will continue to be – noise related to the groundworks and construction. We’d like to thank local residents for their patience. | | |
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New acute ward and new pathology building at Watford General Hospital
The reconfiguration of the top floor of the Shrodells building at Watford General Hospital into a 44-bed acute ward is well underway and construction of a new modular pathology building is also making progress. This will house ‘hot’ pathology services (for results that are needed quickly) with non-urgent ‘cold’ pathology (for less urgent cases) to be moved off-site.
The new pathology building will provide staff with a better working environment and offer much improved viewing facilities for bereaved relatives.
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New road open at Watford
A new road at Watford General Hospital, to divert traffic around Shrodells building, came into use in January as part of the construction of the new pathology building. Clear signage is in place for drivers. The ground floor entrance of Shrodells remains open to pedestrian access. The road has been developed as part of the construction of the new pathology building.
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| An update on subsidence at Watford General | Works are still ongoing on the road outside of the Princess Michael of Kent (PMoK) building due to an underground water leak associated with our aged infrastructure.
We have confirmed the integrity of the road sub-structure and these measurements are informing the final configuration of road repairs. Eighteen metre deep strengthening piles will be used to ensure the structural stability of the road and to protect critical site-wide infrastructure which runs across the road through a service tunnel. Please click here to read our latest FAQs. | | | Diversions around the Watford site | | The road outside the PMoK remains closed and members of the public are reminded that there is no access to the multi-storey car park from the Vicarage Road entrance. If driving, please access the Watford site via Thomas Sawyer Way. Security staff continue to support the diversion around the site caused by the road subsidence and are on hand with maps for visitors to point them in the right direction to our multi-storey car park. | | | Update on the blood clinic and fracture clinic at Watford General | The new phlebotomy (blood) clinic in the H Block at Watford General Hospital is expected to be completed at the end of May. It will provide a more spacious environment for patients and staff. We will then begin the work to relocate the fracture clinic from St Albans City Hospital to Watford General Hospital in the area previously used by the blood clinic. This is expected to complete in late 2023.
This development will allow the emergency department to continue to operate the triage and ambulatory majors area and will also provide a better laid out environment for the fracture clinic which was moved during the pandemic. It will also mean that the fracture clinic is located on an acute site near to an emergency department. | |  | | Welcome to the newest members of West Herts! | April has been a great month for appointments at West Herts. We’ve welcomed two new chiefs, appointed a new chief nurse and extended the tenure of our current chairman.
Toby Hyde joined as chief strategy and collaboration officer at the end of April. Toby was previously at NHS England where he was national deputy director of strategy. Toby has a wealth of experience gained as deputy director of transformation and programme director for integrated care at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Alex White joined us as chief redevelopment officer at the beginning of April and brings over 20 years’ experience leading on major projects in the health sector. This includes working on the Cambridge Children’s Hospital (a new regional children’s hospital for the East of England), where he was project director.
Kelly McGovern, deputy chief nurse and director of nursing of Broomfield site for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, is set to join us in July as our new chief nurse.
In addition, our chairman, Phil Townsend, who has been in post since 2020, has had his tenure extended until 2025, which is great news for us. Read more about his re-appointment here.
You can view our latest ‘Meet the Board’ poster here. | | |
| 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. | |
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