Politicians and MP's have spoken out after West Herts Hospitals were branded "inadequate" by inspectors and put into special measures.

Last Thursday, the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) chief inspector of hospitals recommended that West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust be put into special measures.

The decision follows a negative CQC inspection of the trust, which runs Watford General, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead hospitals.

Watford's elected Mayor Dorothy Thornhill has today written a letter to the secretary of Health Jeremy Hunt asking for a meeting.

In the letter, she said: “A CQC report as bad as our Trust’s doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s been fairly common knowledge for some years that standards at our hospitals are not what they should be.

“Whilst the support that the Trust will be given ought to help with deficiencies in procedure, I am apprehensive that long-term problems with staffing and inadequate facilities will take a great deal more than the standard raft of special measures can deliver.

“It is hard to see how the staffing crisis can be solved without an injection of cash to allow fair competition with hospitals in London, or a change to immigration rules to add nurses to the shortage occupation list.”

Mrs Thornhill said for Watford Health Campus to succeed, the council need clear direction from the Trust about their future needs.

Mr Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, covering part of Dacorum, said he was “delighted” that the chief inspector has recognised the trust is "broken and not fit for purpose”.

He said: “We all predicted that it wouldn’t work at the reorganisation when most of our acute services were moved from Hemel Hempstead to Watford. Our predictions have sadly proved true.

“It is clear that the Trust has lacked adequate leadership and has been badly managed.”

He added: “There are too many unempowered managers and not enough frontline staff.

“The Trust is not big enough to support such a large management structure.

“By placing the Trust in special measures, I hope that the leadership, maladministration and inadequate resources will be exposed and then dealt with.

“The frontline staff do a fantastic job and they have been badly let down by a failing management structure and maladministration.

“It is just not acceptable that such dedicated and caring staff should suffer, as the CQC state, with “low morale, low levels of satisfaction, high levels of stress and work overload.”

Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden said the report was a "welcome step" in recognising the problems. He said: “Clearly there are some serious issues around the hospital that need to be resolved, particularly in relation to patient safety, staff shortages, and the quality of facilities.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to also pay tribute to the hard working NHS staff, something that I saw first-hand when my son was born at Watford General."

Matt Turmaine, Labours parliamentary candidate in May’s election, said: “This situation is a direct result of the disastrous NHS reforms introduced by the Tory/Lib-Dem Coalition government.

“We have always supported the amazing work our NHS staff undertake.

"They are being forced to deal with a nightmare not of their making. Undervalued, under-appreciated and now struggling to provide the service they strive to do so, this is a shocking indictment of what the government seems to care so little about.

“I stood on platform after platform, warning that if you insist on scrapping the last Labour government’s plans to modernise the hospital then you’ll end up in trouble.

"The Tories and Lib Dems pretended everything was well. The truth is now out. Sadly, too late for our town and community.

“The Tories and Lib Dems wanted to run hospitals like businesses, instead of places where patients get care and treatment. We can all now see how wrong that was,” said Turmaine.”

Watford MP Richard Harrington said was was "disappointed" with the report but was sure it would benefit people.

He said staffing problems been around for several years, but said money is there to provide for new staff, equipment and facilities.

He said althought rolling recruitment programmes have been carried out, turnover is high and the training and development are not always available.

Mr Harrington added: "For the whole time I have been the MP I have been waiting for proposals for the redevelopment of the hospital to take to the Secretary of State to get them funded.

"With these issues sorted out, I hope we can get further in that process. I remain committed to our hospital and seeing it succeed in future."