About us
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust provides a full range of general acute, outpatient and diagnostic services at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford, and St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping.
We employ more than 4,000 staff and serve a local population of around 350,000 people living in west Essex and east Hertfordshire, centred on the M11 corridor and the towns of Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford and Epping. Our extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the areas of Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.
In October 2019, the Government announced that we are to receive funding to rebuild a new hospital in Harlow for our patients, community and people.
The details around the funding and the timeframe are currently being finalised and we are completing our business case for the new hospital. We are continuing to develop the essential business case plans to take this amazing change forward.
Our objectives
- Our patients – we will continue to improve the quality of care, outcomes and experiences that we provide our patients, integrating care with our partners and reducing health inequity in our local population
- Our people – we will support our people to deliver high quality care within a compassionate and inclusive culture that continues to improve how we attract, recruit and retain all our people. Providing all our people with a better experience will be evidenced by improvements in our staff survey results
- Our places – we will maintain the safety of and improve the quality and look of our places and will work with our partners to develop an outline business case (OBC) for a new hospital, aligned with the further development of our local Integrated Care Partnership
- Our performance – we will meet and achieve our performance targets, covering national and local operational, quality and workforce indicators
- Our pounds – we will manage our pounds effectively to ensure that high quality care is provided in a financially sustainable way
Vision and values
Our vision
Modern
We will always use up to date treatments, technology and facilities.
Integrated
We will work as one to provide joined up healthcare that puts our patients first.
Outstanding
We will deliver healthcare that our patients deserve and makes us proud.
Our values
Patient at heart
Always holding the patient and their wellbeing at the centre of our thoughts and efforts.
Everyday excellence
Sharing and celebrating our successes, being honest when we get it wrong, giving us the ability to learn from both.
Creative collaboration
Knowing strength comes from diversity, we combine our experiences, skills and talents, working together to find new and better ways to care.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting equality and diversity in everything we do. The service we provide is fair, accessible and appropriate for our patients, their carers and our visitors.
We recognise that, as a prominent employer and service provider in west Essex and Hertfordshire, we have an important role to play in our wider community. We draw on our diverse staff, their backgrounds and their varied life experiences to help us build and sustain an inclusive environment to work and receive care.
What do we mean by equality?
The Equality Act 2010 states that NHS organisations have a 'general equality duty' to promote equality. They must:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it
- Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it
- The general equality duty covers the following protected characteristics:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race - this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
You can read more about the Equality Act 2010 here.
Modern slavery statement 2020-21
Please refer to our modern slavery statement here.
Equality, diversity and inclusion statement
Please refer to our equality, diversity and inclusion statement here.
- You can also read our equality delivery system 2 document (2017) here.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Reports
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2020 - 2021
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2021 - 2022
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-30
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-30 (summary version) [pdf] 856KB
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-30 [pdf] 815K
Equality Delivery System Reports
Gender pay gap reports
Workforce reports
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) report - 2019
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) report - 2020
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) report - 2022
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) report - 2023
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report - 2019
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report - 2020
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report - 2021
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report - 2022
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report - 2023
Our charity
The Princess Alexandra Hospital Charity
Our charity supports patients, our people and visitors at The Princess Alexandra Hospital, St Margaret's Hospital and Herts and Essex Hospital. The charity enhances patient care, purchases special equipment, improves facilities and invests in vital research that supports patients now and into the future. You can read more here and donate with justgiving.
Our patient advice and liaison service (PALS) team
We want you to have an outstanding experience every time you come to our hospital, however we acknowledge that we don't always get things right. That's why our patient experience team is here to help.
We work with you to find positive ways to solve your problems. When possible, we will try to resolve the problem on the spot with the help and support of teams across the trust.
Our patient advice and liaison service (PALS) team are your first point of contact if you have any feedback, queries or concerns about services provided by the hospital.
What do we do?
- We provide a friendly, easy to access and confidential service to help patients, families and carers
- We give you on-the-spot advice and information if you have queries or difficulties
- We will listen to your concerns and help you find ways to resolve them.
- We report your feedback and concerns to the board of directors to help us improve our services
- We act as a point of contact for anyone wishing to get advice and information about the services we provide
Sometimes, problems cannot be solved straight away but we will try our best to help you to resolve your issue or refer you to the appropriate person.