A WOMAN whose son suffers from a brain tumour says the move of Wycombe's children's services to Aylesbury will add pressure to an already stressful life.

Children's wards and inpatient maternity services are due to move to Stoke Mandeville next year a move that health chiefs believe will provide a bigger and better service for patients.

But Lucy Austin, 25, of Plantation Road, Amersham, said she had a taste of things to come when she visited Stoke Mandeville earlier this month after her six-year-old son Nathan, who was diagnosed with the tumour four years ago, fell ill in the middle of the night.

She said: "The whole experience just added extra pressure to our already stressful life.

"Having an extremely ill child is more than enough to contend with, without the added pressure of being miles away from homes and loved ones."

Wycombe had no available cubicles and she and Nathan were transferred to Stoke at 4am.

Mrs Austin said: "I was worried enough about Nathan, but I also had the additional upset of leaving my two small sons at home with my husband."

The following day, it took her husband, who doesn't drive, four hours to get to Stoke Mandeville by bus when one of the buses was late, resulting in him missing the other.

On arriving at the hospital he then had to wait a further 15 minutes, queueing in A&E, to ask directions to the ward as it wasn't clear.

Mrs Austin, who has two other sons, Thomas, 15 months, and Jamie, four months, said: "When he arrived, I then had to catch a bus back to Wycombe to collect my car from the hospital as we were told that if a bed became available in Wycombe they couldn't guarantee us transport back as they were stretched.

"If this is the case now, whatever will it be like when the whole lot moves over?"

Mrs Austin praised the staff at the children's ward at Wycombe Hospital who have cared for Nathan throughout his illness.

She said: "In my experience Wycombe's children's ward is one of the friendliest, most professional wards that we have ever been in. It's an asset to our town."

Health chiefs say maternity and children's services should move together because they are closely connected and that the services for the area would be better specialised in one hospital.

The move, first proposed last year in the Shaping Health Services consultation, is due to take place next year and includes the move of Wycombe's Special Care Baby Unit.