The Department of Health has said the future of High Wycombe’s A&E department lies firmly in the hands of local NHS bosses.

It comes as a growing public campaign to reinstate the service gathers momentum, with a petition now surpassing 10,000 signatures.

Responding to questions from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the department made clear that decisions about emergency care provision should be made at a local level.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Decisions on the future of local NHS services, including the provision of A&E services, are the responsibility of local NHS organisations.

“These organisations are best placed to determine how services should operate to meet the needs of their local population, taking into account workforce, clinical standards and demand.

“This government is backing the NHS with record funding, and we expect that investment to be used to deliver safe, joined up care locally.”

The statement follows revelations in March that the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) warned reopening the A&E at High Wycombe Hospital could “destabilise other units” and “see too few patients to operate safely”.

In October, the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust had no plans to reinstate the service, almost two decades after the department closed.

Health chiefs have since doubled down on their refusal to bring back a full A&E to High Wycombe — insisting it would not be clinically or financially viable, despite mounting public pressure.

Instead, the Trust has bought the former High Wycombe council offices and unveiled plans to turn it into a new “neighbourhood health hub”.

But campaigners say it is no replacement for a fully functioning A&E.

Cllr Khalil Ahmed, who is leading the campaign to restore emergency services in the town, said:  “Neighbourhood health services may have a role to play in prevention and ongoing care, but they are not a substitute for a local A&E.

“For many families in Wycombe, particularly those without access to private transport, the loss of a local A&E continues to be a source of anxiety and frustration.”

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.