In recent years, we've seen 7 new wards open at Watford General Hospital. This is on top of the grant to fund the new Birthing Centre, the £7million investment in the new Link Road, a new Elderly Care unit, a state-of-the-art new scanner unit and a ground-breaking Ambulatory Care Unit, which enables patients to be seen more quickly by specialist staff. These improvements are already securing Watford General’s future, but more needs to be done. I want to see world class facilities at Watford General.

I’m absolutely delighted that Watford General recently received an extra £1 million for their Emergency Department, as part of the Government’s winter funding for hospitals. The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has visited Watford General several times over the last few years and so when it was announced that there would be a dedicated fund for emergency departments during the winter months , I made sure Watford was at the top of the list!

I have no doubt that this will go a long way to improve our emergency services but I have to also pay tribute to the fantastic staff at the Emergency Department at Watford General, who have drastically reduced waiting times already. Watford General are currently in the top 10% of the country, with some of lowest waiting times, and this is a real credit to the hard working staff there.

NHS Staff are now developing the next stage of plans for Watford General, following the recent announcement of £400 million in funding for Hospital redevelopment. 

Away from the hospital, I have been fighting for the expansion of GP opening hours and the expansion of premises. I'm pleased that from the beginning of 2017, all 26 GP practices in Watford can offer weekend appointments for all patients. This is through the development of an online portal that allows GP practices to group together and ensure that one in five is These kinds of initiatives are exactly what we need to reduce pressure on our Hospital.