West Hertfordshire hospital campaigners judicial review claim dismissed

New emergency facilities are planned for Watford General Hospital

NHS planners acted lawfully when making a decision to redevelop hospital buildings rather than build a new facility, a court has said.

The New Hospital Campaign (NHC) claimed the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had acted unlawfully by not holding a full public consultation.

The High Court in London has dismissed the claims.

A spokesman for the NHC said it was "surprised and disappointed".

It has called for an immediate "full public consultation" to "include new site options".

St Albans City Hospital is set to receive "significant investment"

In 2019, the CCG and the West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) said it wanted to bid for £350m of healthcare improvements with investment planned for services in Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead and Watford General being refurbished.

The NHC, which wants a new hospital more central to all three locations, brought a case against the CCG challenging its decision-making process.

After a hearing in October, the High Court has concluded the CCG fulfilled its legal duty to involve the public and a formal consultation was not required.

"We were therefore acting perfectly legally in the decisions we took," a CCG spokeswoman said.

This year, following a feasibility study by an independent team, the preferred option is now to replace rather than refurbish existing buildings at Watford General with "significant investment" on the St Albans and Hemel Hempstead sites.

A statement said the trust would now "press on with the work" to develop the proposals outlined to its boards in October, and "discussed with local people throughout this period".

A NHC spokesman said it was "vital to understand" that the case was "purely about the process used to reach two decisions that were made a year and a half ago".

"There has not been a full public consultation about hospital redevelopment in our area since 2007," he said. "We need one now, and it must include new site options."