GP politician Phillip Lee is set to travel to High Wycombe next week to present his radical plans for a regional Thames Valley ‘super hospital’.

The Conservative MP for Bracknell has already held a meeting in Marlow, where his proposals for a new hospital at Junction 8/9 of the M4 motorway were generally well received.

Dr Lee’s plans are likely to prove more controversial in Wycombe, as they include the closure and sale of parts of the town’s hospital site.

But some campaigners believe the proposals offer a better option for patients – many of whom now face a trip to Stoke Mandeville or Wexham Park for key services such as A&E and maternity.

At the Marlow meeting, Dr Lee said the hospital set-up in the Thames Valley area is ‘unfit for the 21st century’ and a broader strategy is required to design and organise services for the region.

Buckinghamshire hospital chiefs have not been supportive of the plans - saying there should be a strong, independent hospital within the county.

Dr Graz Luzzi, medical director of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said at a recent meeting: “It would be a considerable financial challenge and its nothing other than a proposal and another set of ideas.

“To me it’s a sort of 20 or 30 year idea if it gets of the ground.... We would clearly want to preserve the future of our hospital system.”

The High Wycombe meeting is at The Hub, which is part of the Union Baptist Church on Easton Street, on Thursday, November 8 at 7.30pm.

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