Almost £12 million boost for Watford Hospital redevelopment announced
It's the next phase of the upgrade to Watford Hospital in the government's New Hospital Programme
Plans to rebuild Watford General Hospital have moved a significant step closer after the government confirmed nearly £12 million in funding for the next phase of the project.
The funding follows the government’s review of the New Hospital Programme (NHP), which concluded in January.
As part of that review, a revised national timetable was announced, and ministers reaffirmed that Watford General Hospital would be included in the programme and rebuilt.
Since then, negotiations have been ongoing between local stakeholders and the NHP on two key areas, which are to begin enabling works to ready the site for construction, and ensuring the continuation of a specialist project team to lead the next stage of development.
The funding commitment is expected to provide reassurance to staff, patients, and the wider community that the hospital rebuild is firmly on track.
Matthew Coats, chief executive of WHTH, said: "This marks a major step forward in our project and a sign of confidence from the government in our plans. We now have the money we need for this year to continue our preparations for the main build.
"The cash will be used to deliver new power supplies for the site, remove the Granger Ward, and demolish the Pathology and Medical Assessment Unit buildings to prepare for the next phase of the project.
"The funding will also support a project team to drive forward this critical next stage of redeveloping the hospital - something that many other schemes have not been granted and which to demonstrates a confidence and commitment in advancing the scheme.
"Huge progress has been made on the site over the last few years. We have the land to build on, our plans are well developed, and we have the support of local and national stakeholders. We want to be a position where we are ready to go if an earlier slot does become available – and agreeing the enabling works will help strengthen our case further. We’re working in close partnership with the NHP, and the relationship remains positive and constructive."
Watford MP Matt Turmaine has welcomed a long-awaited £11.86 million funding package for Watford Hospital.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, he said: "The level of assurance that that offers not only the staff at the hospital but of course residents in Watford and the surrounding areas is an enormous sense of relief because it shows that we're serious about it."
The announcement follows local concerns that Watford had not initially been included in the first phase of the New Hospital Programme.
Mr Turmaine explained that the rollout initially prioritised hospitals affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), but that other hospitals in need of upgrades were next in line.
He said: "You had the general election in which we made our commitments to rebuild Watford Hospital as part of that New Hospital Programme, and then we won the election and we saw what the finances were really like. There was no funding at all scheduled to be on March 2025.
"Some of the hospitals that were part of the new hospitals programme were suffering from RAAC. That first phase, the absolute, immediate urgent priority are essentially the hospitals that have got RAAC. You then have wave 2, which Watford is in.
"The 10-year plan for change in terms of health and care has three pillars; one is the move from hospital to community, the second is the move from analogue to digital, and the third pillar is from treatment to prevention."