West Herts Hospitals' redevelopment could cost more than £1bn

There are plans to rebuild the majority of buildings at Watford General Hospital on Vicarage Road

Plans to redevelop hospitals in West Hertfordshire are expected to cost more than £1bn, partly due to inflation, according to the latest estimates.

The plans include rebuilding Watford General and refurbishing St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead hospitals.

West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT) announced at a stakeholder meeting that the cost of work would now be £940m for Watford and £140m for the other work.

Estimates are expected to rise by 2024 when construction is likely to start.

If approved by the board, WHHT hopes to submit its business case to the NHS's New Hospitals Programme and the Treasury later this year.

Deputy Chief Executive Helen Brown reported the new cost estimates at a meeting on Thursday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

She said that by the time construction work would be expected to start in two years' time it is estimated inflation will push the estimates to £1.1billion for Watford General and £160m for the refurbishments at St Albans and Hemel Hempstead hospitals.

"They are big numbers," Ms Brown told the virtual meeting.

"And nobody underestimates the fact that this is a very significant investment that we are asking the government to make in improving our facilities."

She said the trust would be making the case "as strongly as we can" that the investment is needed.

An artist's impression of the proposed new entrance for Watford General Hospital

However she acknowledged that there was no guarantee that this level of funding would be granted.

But Ms Brown said an original figure of £400m suggested in 2019 would never have been enough for a full solution or delivered all the benefits that the trust wanted for its patients.

She said a review of current and future demand has led to an increase in the size of the planned hospital and facilities in Watford.

If not approved, Ms Brown said a "spectrum of options" would be discussed with regulators, the Department of Health and the Treasury.

She said: "Clearly the government has some really difficult financial challenges that it is facing on the back of the last few years - the Covid pandemic, current issues in Ukraine, the squeeze on cost of living. It is a really tricky financial context that we are operating in."

The current plans were the "best solution longer term," she added.

Campaigners have called for a new hospital on a new site but Ms Brown said there was no evidence that would be cheaper.