Last Friday Gagan was delighted to visit Watford General Hospital.
Gagan met with Matthew Coats, Chief Executive of West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and his excellent team. Gagan had a tour the current hospital and learnt about the plans to build the new Watford General Hospital to improve capacity and facilities in our area.
During his tour of the hospital, he visited several wards, including A&E, and he had the opportunity to speak to some of the excellent doctors and nurses working hard to care for people across South West Hertfordshire.
It was also excellent to visit the innovative Virtual Ward, where doctors and nurses can monitor discharged patients and deliver the aftercare they need from the comfort of their own home. Gagan is confident that the team at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will continue to innovate to support patients in the future thanks to the £3.4 billion NHS productivity plan that the Chancellor announced in this week’s budget. This will help to unlock £35 billion in productivity savings over the next Parliament by harnessing new technology like AI, and cutting admin workloads.
Gagan was also fascinated to learn more about the new Watford General Hospital that will be built by 2030. This new hospital will increase capacity to over 950 beds and ensure the excellent staff at Watford General can deliver world-class healthcare to constituents for generations to come. Gagan was pleased to learn from Esther Moors, the Redevelopment Project Officer, that every department’s design in the new hospital has been approved by the relevant clinical team, to ensure that staff can deliver the best possible care for patients.
Our Government is on track to deliver its manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030, including here at Watford General. This marks £20 billion of investment and is the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, ensuring the delivery of world-class healthcare services.