Labour’s general election candidate for Hemel Hempstead is raising concerns that Dacorum is not represented on the board of the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
This comes as the deadline approaches for the appointment of a new non-executive director, and it emerged that none of the existing non-executive directors live in Dacorum.
David Taylor, who has been selected as the Labour candidate, has written to the trust requesting a meeting after concerns were raised by residents.
David says recruitment guidance states that “applicants should live in or have strong connections with the area served by the trust”. He will seek assurances that criteria are in place to properly reflect concerns amongst the community about healthcare services and the controversy about the decision to expand Watford General Hospital.
David said: “Dacorum has the highest population in Hertfordshire. It is absurd that we don’t have any representation on the board of the trust which makes decisions every day about health services affecting the lives of thousands of patients.”
A trust spokesperson said: “NHS non-executive director roles are recruited based on skills and experience needed to discharge the duties of the board. For example, our most recent vacancy, which closed on 1 November, needs someone with nursing, midwifery or allied health professional experience.
“All members of the board must consider the needs of patients and the public across all the areas we cover, without taking on a specific role to represent defined local areas. The recruitment of non-executive directors is governed by NHS England policies, which do not require candidates to be from the trust’s catchment area. However, at West Herts we have added the requirement that NEDs live locally.”
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