A High Wycombe woman spent 11 hours at Stoke Mandeville A&E waiting to see a doctor this week.

She presented at the hospital - one of the nearest accident and emergency department for Wycombe residents - in the early hours of Wednesday morning (February 4).

But she wasn’t seen by a doctor until the afternoon.

Her husband Trevor Snaith, a local councillor, said staff were doing their “absolute best but the system is stretched beyond what’s reasonable or safe”.

Cllr Snaith has previously called for an A&E unit to be returned to Wycombe Hospital. Currently residents face a 14 mile journey to Aylesbury or Wexham Park in Slough for their closest provisions.

Wycombe hospital lost its A&E department over a decade ago.

Recounting his wife’s recent hospital stay, he said: “My wife and I spent time at Stoke Mandeville A&E and, like so many others, experienced corridor waiting and treatment, with four to six hour delays after being registered before being seen.

“Staff are doing their absolute best, but the system is stretched beyond what’s reasonable or safe.

“Patients deserve dignity, privacy, and timely emergency care,  not queues in hallways.”

He posted updates during their visit to his 1,000 Facebook followers, with the first post at around 2am and a follow up the next afternoon to say they still hadn’t been seen.

His wife eventually saw a doctor in the afternoon before they left.

Concerned about their recent experience, Cllr Snaith has reflected on Wycombe’s lack of a proper accident and emergency unit.

He said he had arranged a meeting with the chief executive of the local healthcare trust to discuss the issue.

He said: “High Wycombe needs its own full A&E provision. Our community is large enough, growing, and too far from emergency capacity when minutes matter.”

At the time of writing, 8,671 people have signed a petition to bring the town’s A&E back in action, following its closure in the early 2000s.

He continued: “(Last week’s hospital trip) felt like being stuck in a bad Disney queue, except there’s no shade, no entertainment, no clear time slots, and the stakes are people’s health.

“Corridor treatment. Families anxious. Staff stretched to breaking point.

“This isn’t a theme park problem. It’s an emergency care problem.”

He added: “Relying on long journeys and overflowing corridors isn’t safe, dignified, or fair.”

Buckinghamshire NHS Trust said it was ‘very sorry’ to hear about the difficult experience.

A spokesperson said - despite the petition’s popularity - there ‘no plans to reopen a full Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) at Wycombe Hospital following its closure two decades ago.’

Chief Medical Officer, Andrew McLaren, said: “We understand concerns about local access. Our priority is the safest, most effective care for every resident.

“That means strengthening urgent care in Wycombe and using specialist centres for true emergencies.

“We are aware of the fact-finding exercise being undertaken by the Health and Social Care Committee of Buckinghamshire Council and will engage with and support this process.”

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