Traffic study over A&E decision

8:20am Monday 27th November 2006

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A STUDY is needed to investigate whether the lives of St Albans residents will be put at risk by plans to send all patients who need critical care to Watford.

St Albans MP Anne Main has called for the traffic study following the decision, announced by health chiefs last Thursday, to centralise acute services at Watford General Hospital.

Mrs Main said Hemel Hempstead Hospital A&E should not be closed until a traffic survey can show conclusively that patients will not be put at risk.

She said: "St Albans residents will have to combat traffic, which can be horrific on match days, or on the motorways, to access services at Watford.

"The residents of St Albans are suffering as a result of a massive deficit which is leading to service reconfiguration which I am not convinced will offer the best healthcare for my residents."

The changes mean services such as A&E, intensive care, complex surgery and women's and children's services will only be available at Watford.

Meanwhile Hemel Hempstead Hospital will be downgraded, losing its A&E facility which will be replaced with an "urgent care centre" to treat minor illnesses and injuries.

West Herts NHS Health Trust board also voted, as part of its decision to back Option 1 of its consultation document, to make St Albans City Hospital the focus of day case surgeries. This means most planned surgeries, such as hip replacements, will be carried out there.

The trust's decision to back Option 1 has also been slammed by Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning, as the decision went against the results of the trust's own consultation.

More than 4,200 people responded to the trust's consultation, with four per cent backing Option 1. Eighty-two per cent supported Option 2, which would have seen day surgeries dealt with at Hemel Hempstead instead of St Albans. Fourteen per cent voted for other options, or stated they were unsure.

The changes could deliver savings of up to £11.2million of savings per year, but will cost up to £33.2million to implement.

Mr Penning said: "This so-called consultation was a sham from the start. It seems clear the trust had no intention of listening to the views of the people it consulted and I am disgusted at the outcome. It is clear that this decision is going to have an adverse effect on the health and lives of the people of Hemel Hempstead and west Hertfordshire as a whole."

Trust chairman Professor Thomas Hanahoe said: "We acknowledge the feelings of anxiety within local communities. However, I believe that the changes we have now approved are fundamental to ensuring a strong, vibrant and high quality health service in west Hertfordshire which is fit for purpose in the 21st century. Throughout our 100-day consultation process we have listened to the views, ideas and concerns of patients, residents and other interested parties."