No babies will be born at Wycombe Birthing Centre, no visitors are allowed on any hospital wards and breast and bowel screening programmes have been suspended as Bucks' hospitals continue to struggle against coronavirus.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust - which looks after all of the county's main hospitals - has announced the measures "with immediate effect" as the pandemic rages on.

The Trust said the raft of temporary changes have been made "in anticipation of the increased demand for critical care" because of Covid-19.

This is the full list of changes that have been made:

• No visitors to any of the inpatient wards - except one family member will be allowed if the patient is receiving end of life care, if you are someone's birthing partner, a parent or carer visiting the neonatal ward or if you are a parent visiting a child

• No births at the Wycombe Birthing Centre - they will instead be transferred to Aylesbury Birth Centre or the labour ward at Stoke Mandeville or can opt for a home birth

• Only the patient to attend outpatient antenatal/ scans/ postnatal appointments

• Suspending all new routine referrals and face to face outpatient appointments. Urgent referrals are being triaged and prioritised as per the most important clinical need

• Clinical review of all existing outpatient appointments and conducting these by telephone where possible

• Postponing routine elective surgery and diagnostic procedures where clinically appropriate

• Transferring some clinically urgent cancer surgery to the Chiltern Hospital in Great Missenden from this week

• Re-opening of Chartridge Ward at Amersham Hospital

• Suspending the Community Assessment and Treatment Service (CATS) at Marlow, Thame and Amersham hospitals

• Suspending the community pharmacy service at Amersham Hospital

• Suspending access to radiology at Marlow and Chalfont community sites

• Moving the children’s day unit from Wycombe Hospital to the Stoke Mandeville site

• Suspending the breast and bowel screening programmes and some community based services such as school nursing in line with national guidance. Clinically urgent cases are being reviewed and prioritised

• No new routine admissions to the National Spinal Injuries Centre

All staff members who work in the above areas are being redeployed elsewhere as they continue the battle against the potentially deadly virus.

Chief executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Neil Macdonald, said: “I would personally like to thank the residents of Buckinghamshire for their patience and understanding during what is an unprecedented and challenging time for all of us.

"Our main priority is to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. These temporary changes will enable us to protect and care for the most vulnerable both in the community and in our hospitals.

"What we need you to do is to stay at home, don’t meet with anyone outside your household and respect social distancing to stop the virus from spreading. It really will make a difference and save lives.”

Call 01296 316042 or 01494 734958 if you have any queries.