Following the government’s announcement on 25 May confirming that the plans for the new hospital at Watford will be fully funded, the trust has received more good news. This time from the NHS New Hospital Programme, who have confirmed that a substantial funding envelope has been allocated to the scheme.

This provides the certainty needed to move forward with the preferred option to build a completely new hospital at Watford which will replace existing clinical buildings, including Princess Michael of Kent building, the Women’s and Children’s building and the A&E wing.

Trust chief executive Matthew Coats said: “This is what we need to take our plans forward at pace to deliver this much-needed new hospital for the people of West Hertfordshire. It’s great news for our brilliant staff and our patients who will get the state-of-the-art facilities they deserve.”

Trust chairman Phil Townsend said: “Clearly this is excellent news. It’s the next big step in the long journey for the trust board to provide first-rate modern hospital facilities. It gives us the opportunity to re-design our services to meet the needs of our local community for decades to come.”

The trust is now working closely with colleagues in the New Hospital Programme to map out a timeline to the opening of the new facility.