'Stoke Mandeville can't cope', says hospital campaigner (From Bucks Free Press)

'Stoke Mandeville can't cope', says hospital campaigner Terry Price

11:10am Thursday 10th January 2013 in News By Lawrence Dunhill

Terry Price, who lives in Marlow

HEALTH campaigner Terry Price says the extra pressure being faced by Stoke Mandeville Hospital was "inevitable" after several ward closures in Wycombe.

The recent changes at Wycombe mean hundreds more south Bucks patients are forced to travel north to Aylesbury each month.

Several key services, such as emergency medical care and diabetes services, have now been centralised at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

And dozens of Bucks Free Press readers have pointed to these closures after the hospital reported "unusually high admissions" over the weekend (see related links).

Wycombe Hospital campaigner Terry Price said: "We said Stoke Mandeville couldn’t cope and this was inevitable. This is what happens when they start cutting services."

Work is still ongoing to expand and refurbish the A&E ward to cope with the extra demand, though bosses said extra ward space has been set aside to take emergency patients while the work is completed.

Hospital spokesman Sarah Hills said the extra patients coming in from Wycombe had been forecast and planned for before the changes took place.

She said the high number of admissions is usual for this time of year and is being replicated across the country, adding: "The Trust has plans which are put in place when we are busy to ensure that patients continue to receive high quality care.

"This includes communicating with the public, liaising with our health and social care partners, and utilising additional staff, where necessary."