Watford MP Richard Harrington says he is “hugely supportive” of plans to redevelop Watford General Hospital, claiming that care quality has improved greatly in the last year.

Ambitious plans to spend £641m redeveloping the Vicarage Road site and St Albans City Hospital were announced earlier this month.

A report released prior to the announcement revealed the dire state of facilities at Watford General, saying their poor condition amount to a “significant risk” to the future of the hospital, and citing a maintenance backlog bill of more than £100m.

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However the town’s MP said improvements were being made.

“I am hugely supportive of the plans to redevelop Watford General Hospital, and I have been working closely with the new chief executive on this, and will continue to do so. In the meantime, where improvements can be made, they are, and the trust is making good use of some of the newer parts of the site,” he said.

“Only recently, the brand new West Herts Cardiac Centre opened, and the endoscopy suite has also been expanded and refurbished.

“While plans to redevelop the hospital are progressing, the hospital maintains an investment programme that ensures the whole estate is kept in a good condition.

“I also don’t want this report to detract from the fact that the actual quality of care provided to patients on a daily basis is improving and in the last year, I’ve seen the standards go up and up.”

However Mr Harrington’s comments are in complete opposition to those of his Hemel Hempstead counterpart Mike Penning, who is backing public calls for a brand new hospital to serve west Hertfordshire.