A medical super hub designed to serve tens-of-thousands of patients could be launched in Wycombe by 2020 – if plans are given the green light.

In October Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) revealed it has been provisionally allocated £8.8 million by NHS England to create three primary care hubs in the county – with one planned for the Wycombe Hospital site.

However the plans were met with scepticism from health campaigners who raised concerns some patients will be forced to travel further for treatment if some GP surgeries are moved to the new site.

The CCG has now announced the next steps towards creating the hubs, with health chiefs saying reviews of the “health and needs” of different areas in Bucks will be carried out to establish the best way to deliver health services.

The hubs are expected to offer primary care, out-of-hospital and voluntary sector services, in a bid to “bring care closer to home” and reduce “unnecessary trips to hospitals.”

A report published by the CCG states: “In partnership with our practices and primary care colleagues, the CCG is driving a programme of transformation with investment in primary care to meet – and go beyond – the ambitions of the General Practice Forward View (GPFV).

“Our work to transform family doctor services across the county has been given additional momentum by both Chiltern and Aylesbury Vale CCGs taking on fully delegated responsibilities for commissioning primary care with effect from April 2017.”

The new plans could also see GP practices “share expertise” to improve life for people with a range of conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or leg ulcers.

The CCG is now working on a business case for the hubs, which will be presented to NHS England for approval.

Another hub is planned for Aylesbury, while cash has been earmarked to extend some existing surgeries in south Bucks.

If the plans are given the green light the hubs will come into force in 2020.

The scheme is not connected to Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust’s community hub scheme at Thame and Marlow – which resulted in the loss of beds at the hospitals.

A spokesman for the CCG said: “NHS Buckinghamshire CCG is seeking investment from NHS England to develop additional space in general practice in three of the seven localities across the county which would form the ‘primary care hubs’ as we currently refer to them.

“This planned space will be made available for existing practices to use in a collaborative manner to offer new ways of providing GP services, perhaps with other community providers.”