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NHS Dacorum 2018 Diary Update June 2018 Amongst   the   recent   turmoil   after   the   welcomed   announcement   of   increased   funds   for   the   NHS,   the track   record   of   the   ‘powers   that   be’   in   Dacorum   has   still   yet   to   be   demonstrated.      Despite   last   winter’s hospital   chaos,   the   government,   of   which   Mike   Penning   is   an   active   member,   are   now   saying   a   new hospital   is   nothing   to   do   with   them!      They   also   mention   legal   advice;   it   comes   to   something   when again we see human life depending on lawyers.  This is the government response: Petition “Build a new A&E Hospital CENTRAL to St Albans, Watford and Dacorum.” The   Government   appreciates   that   there   is   local   concern   about   the   location   for   a   new A&E   hospital   proposed   by   West   Herts   Hospital   Trust.   This   is   a   matter   for   local determination. The   CCG   ( Herts   Valleys   Clinical   Commissioning   Group )   concluded,   with   professional   and   legal   advice,   that   there was   no   need   to   consult   on   the   current   proposals   since   the   2015   review   confirmed   the   outcome   of   the   2007 consultation   to   have   A&E   located   in   Watford   General   Hospital   and   Hertfordshire   County   Council   Scrutiny Committee supported this view.  Update July 2018 New Dacorum NHS Hospital even less likely?  Article from the Independent Newspaper: “An   anti-NHS   think   tank   whose   chair   has   donated   thousands   of   pounds   to   the   new   health   secretary   is being   investigated   on   whether   it   breached   rules   on   political   independence   by   the   Charity   Commission.     Concerns   were   brought   to   the   watchdog   about   the   Institute   of   Economic Affairs   which   is   registered   as   an educational   charity   but   has   ties   to   the   Conservative   Party   and   the   Brexit   movement.      Matt   Hancock,   who replaced   Jeremy   Hunt   this   week,   has   received   £32,000   since   2010   from   the   chair   of   the   IEA’s   board, Neil Record who has also donated to the government.”  Update Autumn 2018 - “Beyond belief” Where is a new NHS Hospital for Dacorum now? Thankfully, in the Autumn budget the NHS has been pledged more money. Where will the money be spent? We desperately need West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust and the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group to honour its planned brand-new hospital on a site between Hemel Hempstead and St Albans as announced at a meeting at the Laureate School in late October. We need the hospital to also provide acute A&E and state-of-the art maternity front line services. The current Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has said that the NHS’s future is in technology. Does this mean that any new money will be diverted into an increasing number of private companies? Catering and janitorial services are already regularly outsourced to third party organisations putting money into investors pockets. We currently are adding GP and some medical treatments too, like the one trialling in London ‘GP at Hand’ powered by Babylon. Not only in London, Herts Valleys CCG already use companies ‘Connect’ and ‘Physitrack’ for musculoskeletal and occupational physiotherapy services. There are suspicions that Connect Health have a reluctance to arrange for scans. Now we hear in the National Press of Capita’s cancer notification letter disaster. Is this all part of NHS Privatisation by, not so much the back door, the front door?
Affordable Health (link) M. Hancock MP Meanwhile, front line hospital, GP and care services continue to operate on restricted budgets relying on the goodwill of medical staff. Friends and relations have reported delays in care or in providing other routine medical paraphernalia. For example, a patient has an eye condition that sometimes requires extremely urgent intervention at the Watford walk-in eye clinic. This service has been replaced by a ‘rationing’ appointment system that can delay treatment, this despite the consultant’s warning that any delays could result in blindness. The Dacorum Hospital Action Group (DHAG) in the Gazette (31/10/2018) question why it appears that Watford is the preferred site for the hospital when the it is not central to West Hertfordshire. It is beyond belief that the Dacorum population have further to travel to A&E than most of the region. They are suspicious of an ‘agreement’ between the Watford Borough Council, the NHS Trust and the construction company.
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(See full response:   https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/202644?reveal_response=yes)
(More:  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-think-tank-matt-hancock-institute-economic- affairs-iea-health-secretary-a8443826.html)
https://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/health/hemel-mp-slams-public-meeting-on- proposals-for-a-new-hospital-1-8682407 https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/doctors-protest-nhs-smartphone-video- appointment-service-a3802401.html
http://www.connecthealth.co.uk/clinic/st-albans-city-hospital/
https://www.physitrack.com/about-us
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/14/capitas- cancer-screening-blunder-hits-50000-nhs-patients