Wycombe's urgent treatment centre will open until 10pm from 1 December in a winter pilot. It now shuts at 8pm and expects 15 to 20 more patients a day.

The urgent treatment centre at Wycombe Hospital will stay open until 10pm every night this winter. It closes at 8pm now. The longer hours start on 1 December and run as a four-month pilot to March 2027.

FedBucks, which runs the centre, agreed to the trial with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and the Thames Valley Integrated Care Board. Their answer is set out in the Cabinet and partner responses published for Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 10 November.

What changes

The partners’ response says:

  • the centre will be open 8am to 10pm, seven days a week, during the pilot
  • the pilot runs from December 2026 to March 2027, with 1 December given as the start
  • the extra two hours should let it see an additional 15 to 20 patients a day
  • the aim is to meet winter demand for face-to-face appointments

The centre sees about 100 patients a day at present, according to the councillors’ review that asked for the trial. That review asked for the pilot to be judged on how many people used the later hours and how ill they were.

The response names Tim Summerly, chief executive of FedBucks, and Claire Euesden, acting chief operating officer of the hospital trust, as the leads.

Why it is happening

The pilot was the third of 11 recommendations from the council’s Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee. Its review of emergency care across the county was reported here last week. None of the recommendations asked for a full A&E to return to Wycombe. Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury remains the county’s only full emergency department.

All 11 recommendations were agreed in full or in part. Two other answers touch Wycombe:

  • GP funding. The hospital trust has put £325,000 of its own budget into 12 GP practices hit hardest by the national funding formula, starting in October 2026. The response does not name the practices. Extra money from the integrated care board has not been agreed.
  • Mental health. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust plans walk-in neighbourhood mental health centres and says it will focus on High Wycombe and Aylesbury. People would get same-day support there, including crisis care, from a mental health professional. The trust says it is still at the planning stage and is looking for buildings.

The council has not yet published its formal record of the Cabinet decision.

What it means for you

From 1 December, you will be able to walk in to the urgent treatment centre at Wycombe Hospital, Queen Alexandra Road, until 10pm. It treats injuries and illnesses that are urgent but not life-threatening, such as sprains, suspected minor fractures, cuts and infections.

Until then it closes at 8pm. After that, NHS 111 can book you in elsewhere or put you through to the out-of-hours GP service. For anything life-threatening, call 999.

The pilot ends in March. Whether the later closing stays depends on the evaluation, and the response does not say when a decision on that will be made.

Sources