Review into A&E services in Bucks says full department should not be reopened in Wycombe
A review into Accident and Emergency services across Buckinghamshire has stopped short of recommending that a full service should be reopened at Wycombe Hospital.
The department closed back in 2005, meaning serious emergency and trauma surgery has since been centralised at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
Following a motion passed by Buckinghamshire Council a review was ordered into the case for the restoration of a full A&E department at Wycombe.
Cabinet will be asked to consider the review and respond to its 11 recommendations on Tuesday, November 10, while health bodies are also due to respond.
The review followed a motion passed by the full council in November 2025.
It called for an evidence-based inquiry into emergency care, including travel times, access and pressure on services, and a united case for restoring a full A&E at Wycombe Hospital.
Wycombe currently has an Urgent Treatment Centre for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions.
After hearing evidence from National Health Service bodies, GPs, council services and voluntary-sector representatives, and considering patient experiences, the scrutiny group visited Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe’s Urgent Treatment Centre and made 11 recommendations for care across the county.
Its first recommendation asks the Thames Valley Integrated Care Board to deliver its commitment to provide extra funding for GP practices in the county’s most deprived areas, saying this should be done as a matter of urgency.
The report says practices in Opportunity Bucks wards receive less funding per patient than elsewhere. It adds that primary care networks in those wards had the county’s lowest patient satisfaction scores in 2025.
The group also wants a pilot to extend Wycombe’s Urgent Treatment Centre opening hours to 10pm, with usage and patient acuity assessed.
Other proposals include promoting Pharmacy First, improving coordination between health services, developing shared patient records and making information about where to seek care clearer.
The report says patients can struggle to navigate options between GPs, NHS 111, urgent treatment centres and A&E.
It flags confusion over changing service names and inconsistent guidance on the NHS Trust’s website.
It recommends a single communications strategy, including a “Think 111”-style postcard explaining how to access urgent, emergency and same-day care.
However, none of the 11 recommendations calls for reopening Wycombe’s full A&E. The review focused on how people access emergency care and improvements across the system.
It concludes emergency departments should be for life-threatening emergencies, while more services should be available closer to home.
The Cabinet agenda asks members to note the review group’s report, consider its findings and respond to each of its 11 recommendations.
A petition calling on Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to restore a full A&E department at Wycombe Hospital has nearly 11,500 signatures.