Watford General: New hospital funding plea after hole appears

The area, outside Watford General Hospital, remains out of bounds for vehicles, the hospitals trust said

Urgent investment for a new hospital was needed after a hole opened up in the road close to its main entrance, an NHS trust said.

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the cause of the hole at Watford General Hospital was "subsidence" due to a "water leak, caused by ageing infrastructure".

It appeared on Sunday.

The leak was "under control" and water was still being supplied to the hospital, it added.

The hole appeared outside the Princess Michael of Kent main building on Sunday

A spokeswoman for the NHS trust said emergency repairs would take place at the hole, which was about 6.5ft (2m) by 3ft (1m) wide, with a 1.6ft (0.5m) depth.

No date was given on when the work would start, as the water supply would have to be turned off, and back-up supplies provided, she added.

The area remained cordoned off, but with pedestrian access.

"All patient services continue to run as normal, with the exception of a small number of dialysis sessions for renal patients," she added.

Pedestrian access remains at the site

Clare Parker, the trust's chief strategy officer, said: "Our excellent estates team really have their work cut out with issues like this occurring far too often.

"This latest problem is yet another indication of how urgently we need investment for a new hospital on land next to Watford General."

She said the pipework dated from the 1960s and was "at the end of its life".

"Our concern is that the age and condition of our buildings means that more disruption will follow from other systems which are now at risk of failing," she said.

"We are continuing to press the case for funding for a new hospital building at Watford and we believe this is a far better way to spend public money than continuing to patch up failing infrastructure."

The trust has been developing its outline business case to submit to the government, which would include the rebuild of Watford General, and "significant" refurbishment at St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead hospitals.

The government would then decide if the cost of the project made it feasible.

Building a new hospital to replace all three hospitals at new site, central to Watford, St Albans and Hemel, has been ruled out by the trust.