THE story of 70-year-old Angela Bignall’s injury inside Wycombe Hospital – and transfer to Stoke Mandeville for treatment – should not have the power to shock anymore.

After all, A&E services left Wycombe in 2005. As Charles Mann wrote in his column last week, ferrying patients to Aylesbury even when Wycombe is on their doorstep is nothing new.

But it is a measure of how ludicrous this situation is that Mrs Bignall’s situation left us utterly aghast.

The fact she could not receive any treatment at Wycombe is beyond belief – an absurd situation which shames the level of health service our town receives.

We know the trust has a protocol for critical cases when someone’s life is in danger, but these basic cases of patient care are falling well short of what our residents deserve. There is no proof that Mrs Bignall’s transfer to Aylesbury was dangerous or that the hospital’s policy is unsafe. But this is a desperately demoralising situation for anyone who uses Wycombe Hospital, and surely for the many dedi-cated members of staff who work there.

Health watchdog, the Buckinghamshire Local Involvement Network, says it does not have “hard evidence” there is a problem. We suggest those who have suffered similar situations should contact the Network with all due haste.

Our new MP – whoever that may be after Thursday’s election – must make the situation surrounding the change of services at Wycombe Hospital their top priority. The hospital executives say this dates back to 2005 – old news. But in our view that simply means it is high time this disgraceful mess was sorted once and for all.