There is “overwhelming support” among patients for a controversial health hub scheme to be rolled out across the county, according to Bucks' health trust.

Last year Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust launched two community healthcare hubs in Marlow and Thame in a bid to streamline services and bring care closer to people’s homes.

The pilot scheme, which was extended in January, was met with outrage by campaigners after it was announced inpatient beds at Marlow Community Hospital, in Victoria Road, would not be used in order to create space for the new services.

However health bosses say that there have been calls from residents and stakeholders to implement the scheme across Buckinghamshire following a six-month public engagement investigation.

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Patients advised that the hubs should be “tailored to the needs” of the different areas in Bucks, if they are provided across the county.

However some patients who attended the hub at Thame Community Hospital in East Street said they had not been told by their GP why they had been referred to the centre.

A trust board report said “a number of patients” just received an appointment in the post, and did not find out the reason for the referral until they attended on the day.

Some Marlow patients said transport to the hubs was their “biggest problem”, and called for more public or community transport options to improve their experience.

However many hailed the service provided, with one woman saying “she felt like a person, not a patient”, while others praising the service as a “one stop shop” for health care.

Speaking at a board meeting of the trust, chief operating officer, Natalie Fox, said: “At the moment the model is operating in Thame and Marlow, we overwhelmingly heard that people would like to see that model rolled out across the county, but when we roll that model out it needs to be based and designed around the needs of that local population.

“We need to do more to raise awareness. There were pockets of the community that were aware of the services that were on offer. There were a number that weren’t clear about what was actually happening in the hubs.”

The hubs are currently open for two days in Thame and three in Marlow, with patients calling for a seven day service.

New services on offer include outpatient clinics such as orthopaedics, falls and bones, general surgery and chemotherapy, as well as a community assessment and treatment service.

According to Ms Fox the next step will be to analyse the results gathered during the public engagement and then make a decision as to whether the scheme will be rolled out across the county.