A government minister paid a visit to Watford General Hospital to speak to staff about their experiences of the pandemic and to find out how the vaccination roll-out is going.

Helen Whately, who is minister for social care, was taken on a tour of the hospital and its vaccination hub on Thursday.

She was joined by Watford MP Dean Russell for the visit, who took the opportunity to update Ms Whately on the hospital's redevelopment programme.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust tweeted on Thursday: "Helen Whately, minister of state for social care, met some of our wonderful #TeamWestHerts staff at Watford General Hospital today to hear first-hand about their experiences of working during the pandemic."

They also revealed that Ms Whately was given a tour of the hospital's vaccination centre by manager Jayne Taylor, while lead nurse for patient experience Maggie Pacheco and some of the hospital's volunteers joined the minister to deliver gift packs to some of the staff at Watford General.

See more: One year on - life on the Covid frontline at Watford General

Mr Russell tweeted: "It was great to show @Helen_Whately the bold and ambitious plans for #Watford General Hospital which will transform the site and the experience of patients from across West Herts."

Speaking about her visit to Watford, Ms Whately tweeted: "Great visit to @WestHertsNHS this afternoon. Thank you to the staff who spoke so powerfully about their experiences during the peak of the pandemic & the volunteers for the help they’re giving, and everyone involved in the vaccine rollout. A truly amazing team effort."