INCREASING services at Watford General Hospital before its multi-million pound redevelopment could affect the standard of care, it has been warned.

Acute care services may be moved from Hemel Hempstead Hospital to Watford in less than a year as a cost-cutting measure.

West Herts Hospital Trust is conducting a feasibility study into what services could be moved, whether it saves money to move them or not and when they could be moved.

The proposal is to move services in April 2006, several years before the planned redevelopment of Watford General Hospital, which is to be completed around 2012.

This proposal was in the Investing in Your Health agreement, signed up to by all areas of Hertfordshire, apart from Hemel Hempstead.

This agreement is designed to offer a better quality of care to the residents of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire by reorganising and redeveloping existing services and introducing new ones.

Seven Hertfordshire MPs, including David Gauke from South West Herts and Mike Penning from Hemel Hempstead, met the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt, in July, to raise their concerns about funding in the health service.

Both MPs are concerned that Watford General Hospital will not be able to cope with the increased demand if the proposals go ahead.

Mr Gauke said: "The Secretary of State favours the early transfer of services to Watford, but she is offering no extra money and certainly, no early redevelopment."

Mr Penning admitted he was fundamentally opposed to the movement of services from Hemel, but said that this was a different issue.

He said he was concerned that moving services six years ahead of the redevelopment of Watford General without building new facilities, or redeveloping existing ones, would be bad for patient care.

He said this would also affect Watford residents as the hospital would not be able to cope.

Watford MP, Claire Ward, said the warning is a smokescreen.

She said: "It is clear that the Tory MP in Hemel Hempstead is simply trying to take us back to the beginning of the discussions.

"We now need a financial recovery plan that ensures we do not put at risk the services for my constituents, nor the long-term aim of getting our new redeveloped hospital in Watford."

She added that Ms Hewitt had given her reassurance that the Department of Health would help local financial managers to develop a financial recovery plan to ensure improved services.

The result of the hospital's consultation into moving services is expected in August 2005.