More work planned for Wycombe hospital

Further plans for development at Wycombe Hospital have been submitted as work begins on a new building at the site.

The latest application includes a series of internal alterations and refurbishment works, alongside external plant installations on an existing flat roof.

Internally, the proposals seek to reconfigure part of the building to create a new store for the hospital’s cardiac catheterisation laboratory (Cath Lab) and a new staff room.

The works also include the installation of new mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems to serve the new store area.

Externally, the plans include the installation of a new MVHR unit housed within a white glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) enclosure, along with associated ductwork, a condenser unit and rooftop support system. New fixed access stairs and a roof guard rail are also proposed.

According to the application, the majority of the works are internal, with external changes limited to plant equipment on the existing flat roof.

No changes are proposed to vehicle or pedestrian access, car parking, service areas or boundary treatments.

The application adds that deliveries will be carefully managed and contained within the area during the works.

In December, plans were approved for a £20 million project to transform Wycombe Hospital.

Buckinghamshire Council gave the go-ahead for a new hospital building on car park B at the site, paving the way for the first phase of a major redevelopment.

Designed to address the poor condition of the existing tower block which houses key clinical services, the new six-storey building will begin the phased relocation of services into a modern, purpose-built facility.

The latest plans come amid renewed calls for Wycombe’s A&E department to be reinstated, with a petition demanding its return now attracting more than 7,000 signatures.

However, the trust has reiterated its position, saying that reopening a full A&E would not be clinically or financially viable, despite continued pressure from residents in and around Wycombe.

Currently, patients requiring emergency treatment must travel to Stoke Mandeville, Wexham Park or Oxford hospitals – journeys which can take between 30 and 45 minutes.

A spokesperson for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust previously said Wycombe Hospital already provides “outstanding” specialist emergency care for cardiac and stroke patients, as well as housing an intensive care unit and an Urgent Treatment Centre for minor injuries and illnesses.