Wycombe Hospital: Structural integrity investigated

Wycombe Hospital, pictured here in November 2021, was built in three phases throughout the 1960s and 70s

An investigation has begun into the structural integrity of an NHS hospital and could last for another year.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) said Wycombe Hospital was undergoing basic repairs.

It said scaffolding and green netting recently put up was needed while the structure of the tower block was investigated.

A trust spokesman said the netting and crash decks were to "protect the public and staff".

BHT said the scaffolding on the main building on Queen Alexandra Road was installed for "safety", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A spokesman said: "The scaffolding is there for safety whilst we investigate the structure of the tower block."

He said it would "remain in place for at least another year while the investigations are ongoing".

• More than 1,500 props supporting hospital's roof

In 2019, Conservative MP for Wycombe Steve Baker referred to the hospital as an "increasingly tired 1960s tower block".

At the time, chief executive officer for BHT Neil McDonald said the hospital continued "to be reliant on ageing diagnostic equipment, and put off overdue maintenance work adding to sizeable maintenance backlog".

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