Hospital wards closing at Queen Alexandra Road this week

10:36am Wednesday 14th November 2012 in Health By Lawrence Dunhill

Wards closing at Wycombe Hospital this week Wards closing at Wycombe Hospital this week

TWO wards are being closed at Wycombe Hospital this week as part of a controversial NHS shake-up in Bucks.

Specialist staff in wards 3b and 6b - both in the tower block at Queen Alexandra Road - are transferring to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, as part of plans agreed earlier this year.

This means patients needing an overnight stay for acute medicine for older people, diabetes, respiratory or gastroenterology services will be now be directed to Stoke Mandeville.

About 90 patients per week will be affected, but health bosses say the move is aimed to “ensure patients continue to receive safe and high quality services”.

Focussing staff in fewer locations is seen as a more cost-effective way of delivering specialist care – though health chiefs argue also it will also improve care by increasing the presence of senior doctors on the wards.

However, campaigners still reeling from the recent loss of Wycombe Hospital’s A&E and maternity wards have criticised the plans - arguing a town of Wycombe’s size should warrant a ‘fully-functioning’ acute hospital.

There are also fears that Stoke Mandeville will not be able to cope with the extra patients. The number of beds at Stoke will remain the same, but health chiefs say this fits in with drives to reduce the time patients spend in hospital and to deliver more care at home.

Bosses stress that medical outpatients can still be seen at Wycombe Hospital, in a new assessment unit, while a ‘step-down’ ward has been created on 5b – for inpatients who do not require as much attention from specialist doctors.

Wycombe Hospital also retains some specialist services such as heart attack and stroke care.

Related links

The latest changes follow the closure of Wycombe’s emergency room last month – which has been replaced by a Minor Injury and Illness Unit (see related links).

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospitals, said in a statement: “Staff have been planning and preparing over the past few months to ensure the changes happen as smoothly as possible.

“Prior to the ward moves, staff plan to discharge patients who are fit to leave hospital and only move those requiring ongoing care or treatment.

“Patients at Wycombe who require nursing care but no longer need specialist medical treatment will stay at Wycombe on the new step-down ward.

“Patients who need to transfer to Stoke Mandeville will be assessed thoroughly before being moved and will be accompanied by a member of staff in an ambulance. All patients and their next of kin are being kept informed throughout.”

Comments(28)

Darren Hayday says...
10:56am Wed 14 Nov 12

Not long now till Wycombe Hospital is bulldozed down and built into fine town centre apartments with a mixture of retail outlets enhancing Bucks New Uni and Eden Shopping Centre... I THINK THAT IT’S NAMED AS “PHASE 2??” Fitting in very nicely with the large retail units by the old gas works and the new road layouts for the bottom of Marlow Hill..

Never mind, at least our local MP can help stop this from happening.. No hang on a moment - I remember now.. He said "That it’s unreasonable to ask for our lost wards such as A&E and Maternity back".

So - no help from Mr Steve Baker MP then..

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rem708 says...
11:53am Wed 14 Nov 12

How many deaths will it take to make someone listen?

Someone I know personally took his wife to the the hospital this weekend with a heart problem. It's been seen before hence it need quick attention. The doctors at the pathetic excuse for a A&E department said they could not admit her and suggested he take her to Stoke Mandeville and refused to even provide an ambulance.
Needless to say he walked outside the building, Called 999, summoned an ambulance who turned up with twos and blues. The paramedic took the lady on board, did some tests and admitted her urgently to Wycombe Hospital.

You call this efficient use of the overstretched service?

Wycombe is a large town and close to the motorway - it needs a full A&E not the pathetic excuse it has been given.

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Fit2drop says...
12:40pm Wed 14 Nov 12

All staff above level 6 have had to re-apply for their jobs. Most have been rejected andd await a decision on their future. Only private medical care in HW very soon.

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Rodney Ranshaw says...
1:25pm Wed 14 Nov 12

The more I read about what is happening with Wycombe General Hospital the more I ask as to what it has to do with what the NHS was set up for. I believed the NHS was there to provide care for the sick; it seems I am mistaken.
IT MAKES ME VERY SAD.

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Monkey King says...
4:46pm Wed 14 Nov 12

Nice of them to remove care for Diabetes sufferers on November 14th: World Diabetes Day!

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Scarletto says...
4:48pm Wed 14 Nov 12

It all gets worse - yet a health official said "Overall this is an improvement once the changes are made."

Also,,,black is actually white

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Darren Hayday says...
5:04pm Wed 14 Nov 12

It makes me very sad as well!

We must fight this, if not for our future for our children’s future.

Yes I understand that its hard times but I'm fed up in seeing this and previous Governments ruin our hospital and run rough shod over our town.
This is morally wrong and it’s messing with people’s lives.

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daemonite says...
6:22pm Wed 14 Nov 12

To a developer, the hospital land and that of Staples, must be worth a futune, many millions of pounds at a guess. Could get several luxury dwellings in there. Drive straight up the hill and you're on the motorway into London. In work in no time at all. In 2020 to 2025 we will see. Whatever you do, make sure you don't need hospital treatment urgently.

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daemonite says...
6:24pm Wed 14 Nov 12

To a developer, the hospital land and that of Staples, must be worth a futune, many millions of pounds at a guess. Could get several luxury dwellings in there. Drive straight up the hill and you're on the motorway into London. In work in no time at all. In 2020 to 2025 we will see. Whatever you do, make sure you don't need hospital treatment urgently.

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Material-Girl says...
7:56am Thu 15 Nov 12

All patients and their next of kin are being kept informed throughout.” ....... absolute lie.... we were not informed that my Uncle was being transferred and only found out by accident when a member of staff mentioned it to a visitor!!! The nursing staff at HW have been great throughout the past 12 weeks, unfortunately the more senior staff are incompetent, I am still awaiting email replies and telephone calls promised 3 weeks ago! Now this move has taken place, it seems clear.... ... this patient is no longer our responsibility !

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Robert.M says...
9:58am Thu 15 Nov 12

As usual we are all being railroaded and bullied by central goverment and the local council.
Wycombe is an expanding town with its population growing daily,and these short sighted narrow minded cretins are gradually closing our hospital,what the hell are we paying N.I and council tax for?
Maybe if they stopped paying immigrants who come here and dont work but bleed our system of money,just to sit on frogmoor and get drunk and harass people,and stopped supporting immigrant women that come here for free child birth and child benefit,then maybe we could afford to keep our hospital.

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stevet123 says...
11:15am Thu 15 Nov 12

NHS if i am correct another Maggie Thatcher's mess

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Rodney Ranshaw says...
11:51am Thu 15 Nov 12

This short sighted approach to our Hospital in Wycombe reminds me of the Beeching Rail Axe of 1965 when thousands of route miles were cit and thousands of stations closed. Now land is having to be purchased and new routes opened. Wycombe Hospital's facilities should be improved upon not closed, this should in itself prove to be more efficient in the long term and benifit future generations not these short term measures which make administrators look good on the balance sheet.

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BOOKERite says...
11:52am Thu 15 Nov 12

Immigration, (one of the main causes of over demand on the NHS) is, if i am correct, another Tony Blair mess.

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Scarletto says...
12:27pm Thu 15 Nov 12

First we should slam the racism of Robert M, written above. Shame on him as he distorts facts. Unhelpful and just what the BNP wants with its poisonous statements. Hitler blamed jews etc.
Secondly, the blame rests with area health officials and not Whitehall. Local officials have diverted precious funds away from Wycombe unfairly and contrary to our interests.

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waysidebunny says...
1:26pm Thu 15 Nov 12

I am increasingly concerned about this NHS authority. My father suffers from Asthma, Diabetes and a Heart Complaint. Last year he was admitted with heart problems and the hardest thing to excuse was that the Consultants from the different wards couldn't agree on his treatment or his medication because he came under 3 different wards.....HOW ON EARTH are they going to care for their patients when the Consultants aren't even in the same Hospital?

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washondo says...
2:02pm Thu 15 Nov 12

Not unsurprising the juxtaposition of the hospital reducing its services together with the report on a report on unhygienic food supply.
~
Which came first and why?
~
And which may be a gross error of judgement?

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washondo says...
2:12pm Thu 15 Nov 12

daemonite wrote:
To a developer, the hospital land and that of Staples, must be worth a futune, many millions of pounds at a guess. Could get several luxury dwellings in there. Drive straight up the hill and you're on the motorway into London. In work in no time at all. In 2020 to 2025 we will see. Whatever you do, make sure you don't need hospital treatment urgently.
How do you work that out?
~
You could sell it all and illegally build a football ground on it, what with all that carpark and everything.
~
You could call it Loakes Park even!

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Robert.M says...
5:43pm Thu 15 Nov 12

Scarletto wrote:
First we should slam the racism of Robert M, written above. Shame on him as he distorts facts. Unhelpful and just what the BNP wants with its poisonous statements. Hitler blamed jews etc. Secondly, the blame rests with area health officials and not Whitehall. Local officials have diverted precious funds away from Wycombe unfairly and contrary to our interests.
First of I am not and never have been a racist,bigot or ever been inclined to be a member of the BNP.
If you wind your stupid neck in and try to see the woods for the trees you may just see daylight and realise we are an island and can ony sustain a certain amount,I have no problem with any race, colour,creed or religion coming into this country as long as they work and pay their way, and not keep sponging off our goverment to get money to buy booze and get drunk on frogmoor,if we did not have to keep giving these scroungers money there just might be enough to keep our hospital open.

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Little Smokey says...
7:11pm Thu 15 Nov 12

nice to know when I have a heart attack or stroke etc. That's it, my life has gone

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stevet123 says...
7:23pm Thu 15 Nov 12

BOOKERite wrote:
Immigration, (one of the main causes of over demand on the NHS) is, if i am correct, another Tony Blair mess.
no, EU mess fool tory put us in it, give us a referendum to out the eu send them home and lets have England back

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stevet123 says...
7:29pm Thu 15 Nov 12

Little Smokey wrote:
nice to know when I have a heart attack or stroke etc. That's it, my life has gone
stop taking the spliffs , your be ok with that at wycombe, first class the heart consultants

Report this post »

stevet123 says...
7:34pm Thu 15 Nov 12

Robert.M wrote:
As usual we are all being railroaded and bullied by central goverment and the local council.
Wycombe is an expanding town with its population growing daily,and these short sighted narrow minded cretins are gradually closing our hospital,what the hell are we paying N.I and council tax for?
Maybe if they stopped paying immigrants who come here and dont work but bleed our system of money,just to sit on frogmoor and get drunk and harass people,and stopped supporting immigrant women that come here for free child birth and child benefit,then maybe we could afford to keep our hospital.
I agree, and the goverment stop giving aid ( money to there countires and also get out of the EU) we will be a much better nation and will not need to cut budgets in our own country, makes me cringe that India one of the richest nation and we still pile them with aid, the goverment stink

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looper says...
10:40pm Fri 16 Nov 12

Lets see what happens when the snow falls!!! How will people travel to stoke then?

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stevet123 says...
1:32am Sat 17 Nov 12

well latest is vascular is transfering to john radclffe

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Emma179 says...
2:33pm Tue 20 Nov 12

This is one way of reducing the population I suppose. Whatever happened to common sense. There is probably a law against it now.

Sad times

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stevet123 says...
4:33pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Emma179 wrote:
This is one way of reducing the population I suppose. Whatever happened to common sense. There is probably a law against it now.

Sad times
it will not reduce the population more people will emmigrate here

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richardoxuk says...
9:16am Sat 24 Nov 12

The knee-jerk shout of "racism" does nothing to help our dire financial istuation either in this town or these islands!
A significant factor for the struggling NHS is not only the arrogance and incompetence of senior managers/doctors but also the deliberate, deceitful and unmandated flooding of thes islands with some 4 MILLION immigrants by Tony blair and the Labour Party -
Map this number onto (say) the USA equivalend land mass and you would have 170 MILLION immigrants -
That indicates the sheer scale of the problem we face...
We do not have the resources to deal with that number of extra people - and the situation will not get betterr - how can it?
The sinking standards of healthcare as seen in Wycombe are just a pre-cursor to absolute chaos to come.
Thank you to Tony Blair and the Labour Party for deeding this to us and to our future generaitons.

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