St Albans residents are set to benefit from a new hospital at Watford and improved facilities at the city hospital.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, announced the new hospital during a speech in Parliament yesterday (Thursday, May 25).

The confirmed scheme will begin soon and will benefit patients in St Albans, Watford, Hemel Hempstead and surrounding areas.

The brand new, state of the art hospital in Watford will be part of a bigger scheme which will also see investment in St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead hospitals.

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The "fully funded, state of the art" site will be built next to the current Watford General Hospital, after West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust's plans were approved last summer, pending government money.

This is one of the programmes being prioritised for a national multi-billion-pound rolling investment, as part of the government's flagship New Hospital Programme.

Conservative Parliamentary spokeswoman, Clare de Silva, said: “This package of funding is great news for St Albans and the surrounding areas.

"As part of the Conservative governments’ New Hospitals Programme, we will have state of the art facilities nearby, building on wider plans for provision across three sites including a new hospital at Watford as well as improvements to St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead hospitals."

In St Albans City Hospital there will be new operating theatres and diagnostic suites opening next year, enabling the planned surgery services to expand and more people to access their surgery closer to home.

Clare added: "The new fully funded package was put together following cross-party support.

"I have been pleased to work with and support my neighbouring colleague and MP for Watford, Dean Russell, who has been pushing for these much-needed facilities since 2019 and without whom this may not have happened.

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"This is great news for St Albans. and I am greatly encouraged that the government is investing in our area and our health in this way."

To date, Watford General has received more than £51 million from the programme for enabling works, along with an additional £11.5 million for the reconfiguration of pathology at Watford General, St Albans City Hospital, and Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

The government aims to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030.