Watford General Hospital

Watford General Hospital is a 521-bed acute District General Hospital situated on Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire. Together with Hemel Hempstead Hospital and St Albans City Hospital, it is operated by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.[1]

Watford General Hospital
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Watford General Hospital from Vicarage Road
Shown in Hertfordshire
Geography
LocationVicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Coordinates51°38′54″N 0°24′14″W
Organisation
Care systemNational Health Service
TypeDistrict General
Services
Emergency departmentYes
Beds521
History
Opened1948
Links
Websitewww.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/about/watfordgeneralhospital.asp

History
The Administration Block

Watford General was formed at the foundation of the National Health Service utilising buildings which were formerly the Watford workhouse and, from 1929, Shrodells Public Assistance Institution.[2] The facility also incorporated the Peace Memorial Wing from 1965 when management of the Peace Memorial Hospital was transferred to the Shrodells site.[3][4] The Peace Hospice is situated on the former Peace Memorial site.[4][5] The Princess Michael of Kent Wing at the Shrodells site was opened by Princess Michael of Kent in 1986[6][7] and an acute admissions unit was opened by Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Health, in February 2010.[6]

The hospital manages beyond its safe capacity with A&E having been designed for around 30,000 attendances per year but receiving over 88,000. The hospital was designated "inadequate" in its 2015 CQC inspection, but was upgraded to "requires improvement" in January 2018.[8]

Outline planning permission to redevelop the hospital and create the Watford Health Campus was granted in 2008. Section 106 agreements which will provide £3 million for infrastructure around the Vicarage Road site, including education and transport, were signed on 26 March 2010.[9] In August 2012 Kier Property was selected to carry out the development programme.[10] It will take 15–20 years to complete.[11]

Facilities

A new road has been built to improve linking the hospital to the town centre and the M1. Given the name, Thomas Sawyer Way, it is the main access for the hospital.[12][13][14]

The hospital is well-served by Watford buses running between the town centre and Rickmansworth.[15]

References
  1. "West Herts Hospitals". Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  2. Higginbotham, Peter. "The Workhouse". Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. "Details: Watford General Hospital (Peace Memorial Wing), Watford". Hospital Records Database. National Archives. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  4. "Peace Memorial Hospital". War Memorials Archive. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  5. "Our history". Peace Hospice. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  6. "Watford General Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  7. "Princess Michael of Kent wing". Watford History Group. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  8. "CQC Report January 2018".
  9. "Watford Health Campus closer to reality". Watford Observer. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  10. "Kier Property is to draw up plans for new hospital and hundreds of homes". Watford Observer. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  11. "First spade hits the ground for the Watford Health Campus road". 23 July 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  12. "New hospital road funding hailed as critical stride to Health Campus". Watford Observer. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  13. "New hospital Road map" (PDF). West Herts Hospitals.
  14. "Change to hospital access as Thomas Sawyer Way opens". West Herts Hospitals. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  15. "Watford - Our Services". 2 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
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