NHS chiefs will be grilled in public tomorrow over failures in A&E and controversial changes which saw Wycombe Hospital lose its emergency medical centre.
Long waiting times at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which was found to be missing its targets for seeing A&E patients, in the winter up to April, will come under the microscope next Friday.
The decision of health bosses to centralise services at Stoke Mandeville, to the outrage of campaigners fighting for A&E to return to Wycombe, will also be scrutinised.
Members of the county Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee will quiz NHS officials in front of the public - and live over the internet.
Select committee chairman Lin Hazell, a Buckinghamshire county councillor, said: "We really would urge people who are interested in the NHS to try to watch this meeting so they can come to informed conclusions based on the discussions.
"Our committee, which is made up of democratically-elected councillors, will be approaching this with an open mind. We will listen to health officials, ask questions where appropriate and agree any action required."
However, she stressed: "Whatever we decide after this meeting, I can reassure the public that this is not the end of our involvement as we will continue to monitor local NHS services, and our next meeting in September will look at recent concerns over the quality of local hospital services.
"Next week’s meeting is just part of an ongoing process."
She invited anyone with concerns about health services to contact her committee, which is an independent cross-party body set up to hold the NHS to account.
NHS chiefs have insisted the Better Healthcare in Bucks project, which led to the restructuring, was crucial to improve the quality and viability of services. A Minor Injuries and Illness Unit was set up last year at Wycombe to replace the EMC. The meeting starts at 10am at County Hall in Aylesbury. To watch online go to www.buckscc.public-i.tv/core/
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