THE first meeting of a county council working group set up to probe the issue of urgent care in Bucks hospitals got off to a positive start, a councillor said this week.

Among the points of discussion were the standard of information given to the public over the changing face of emergency care and whether that available at Wycombe hospital was adequate.

Attending the meeting was Lib Dem Cllr Julia Wassell, who amassed 16,000 names on a petition calling for a probe into the issue. She told the BFP several objectives had been decided on as the working group moves forward. One of these is to create a map of Bucks which will show where people need to go for treatment.

The differences between the transforming urgent care levels at Wycombe Hospital will also be examined - how things have changed at the hospital after its A&E department became a Emergency Medical Centre and then, last year, when this became the Minor Illness & Injuries Unit.

Tory Cllr Tony Green, also at the meeting, said afterwards: "What we're going to test is whether the MIIU is working satisfactorily or whether there needs to be something more robust there. A lot of us would like to see a proper Emergency Medical Centre there."

He added that although it would be nice to see a full A&E unit return to Wycombe, this was not likely to happen.

Cllr Wassell said the meeting also discussed the level of information given to the public over where they should go for treatment - a point the trust came in for criticism over in the Keogh Review.

She said: "We're pleased that the Trust are providing more information to the public but we're still concerned people still don't know where they should go."

Cllr Green said: "That's of the big problems and what's caused a lit of the long waits at Stoke Mandeville. People go up there who could be treated at Wycombe - but people aren't sure they should go there."

Cllr Wassell also criticised the location of the upcoming CCG meeting, scheduled for Hamilton School in High Wycombe on November 21, believing it should be held closer to the town centre and bus station so people would find it easier to attend.

She said: "Health is the most enormous issue for Wycombe people and it needs to be discussed in a central location.

"It (the working group meeting) was a very positive start for all those people who signed the petition and all those people who are concerned."

She added anyone else with concerns about the situation should contact their county councillor and tell them what they want the enquiry to look at.

The meeting took place on Monday at County Hall. The next meeting will take place at a date to be confirmed.