The playroom, which closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has now reopened with strict infection control measures in place.

The Trust has eased restrictions to allow visitors back into its hospitals. For each patient, one visitor is allowed to visit for one hour, once a day from Monday to Friday.

In April 2001, over 35 nurses made the long journey from the Philippines to Buckinghamshire to start a new life. Two decades later, over 30 nurses from the two cohorts still work across the Trust and are key members of the local Filipino community.

Easter Bank Holiday weekend pharmacy opening hours across Buckinghamshire.

NHS England has today (11 March 2021) published the results of the annual NHS Staff survey 2020. Despite the pandemic, just under 3,000 members of staff at the Trust completed the NHS Staff Survey in October and November 2020, an increase on last year.

The closure of access to Whielden Street from the A404 (Amersham to Hazelmere road) will continue until end of March due to ongoing HS2 work. The replacement shuttlebus service to the hospital will continue.

On Friday 26 February CEO Neil Macdonald and Chief People Officer Bridget O’Kelly officially opened Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s new wellbeing pod for staff at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Without the generous support of the public in fundraising and donating to NHS Charities Together and the Trust’s charitable fund the pod would not have been possible.

Throughout the pandemic, the Trust has worked hard to continue to provide vital cancer services and has continued to meet the national target to see urgent GP cancer referrals within two weeks.

As part of a programme to improve outpatient services to provide a better experience for patients and to make the best use of NHS time and resources, the Trust is updating the way patient appointments are booked for outpatient clinics.

We are pleased to announce that, after working closely with UKPC and their debt recovery company, both companies have agreed to cancel those unpaid parking fines which have progressed to debt recovery, at zero cost to the Trust and the individuals involved.

Teams from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity, are working together with 28 employees from Nuffield Health being seconded into family liaison, clerical, operational and administrative positions including COVID-19 swabbing to support the NHS Trust’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has created several challenges for maternity services all over the country. At Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, we have been working closely with Bucks Maternity Voices Partnership to hear your views and wanted to provide an update on the current restrictions which are in place for some of our maternity services.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is backing a new NHS campaign to urge families in Buckinghamshire to talk about organ donation following research that less than half of adults in England have had the conversation.

A new video shows patients how COVID-safe the routine surgery has been made for them at Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s stand-alone cataract theatre unit.

NHS and social care in Buckinghamshire are asking families to help support their loved ones when they return home from hospital.

Some BHT staff have received letters re historic parking fines. This action has not been instigated by the Trust. We are taking this matter very seriously and are talking to UKPC to resolve this asap.

Mo Girach, Associate Director of the University’s School of Medicine and Allied Health, has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Executive Board of the Trust.

The NHS both locally in Buckinghamshire and nationally is experiencing huge challenges with the number of COVID-19 positive patients requiring treatment in our hospitals increasing significantly in recent weeks – almost 50% of our beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients. In order to cope with this increased demand, along with the need to maintain other services as much as possible, Buckinghamshire Health NHS Trust, in line with national guidance, has made a number of temporary changes so that staff can be deployed to support urgent and critical care.

As Buckinghamshire is now in Tier 4, with infection rates rising, the Trust has taken the decision to implement compassionate visiting. This means we will be only be allowing visiting in exceptional circumstances. This will take place with immediate effect.

An open letter from Neil Macdonald, CEO, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to our communities, patients and colleagues.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, in partnership with Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust and the Buckinghamshire CCG, will be setting up a specialist clinic at Stoke Mandeville Hospital early in January to support patients across the county who are suffering with Long COVID.

Our annual awards recognise and celebrate the achievements and commitment of individuals and teams working for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. Everyone is welcome to make a nomination, and patients, carers or visitors are particularly encouraged to nominate for the Patient Choice Award by the 22 January 2021 deadline.

The Trust has launched a same day emergency care service (SDEC). This new service, which opened Monday 23 November, allows frail or elderly patients to progress straight to a specialist day unit following a GP referral or triage in the emergency department (A&E) reception and so avoid having to wait to be seen in the emergency department.

Christmas & New Year Bank Holiday 2020/21 opening hours for pharmacies across Buckinghamshire.

The Trust would like to thank all who donated to its JustGiving fund so generously and selflessly to support the wellbeing of staff working in the organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date more than £35,000 has been raised. The Trust has also received £130,000 from NHS Together Charities.

Congratulations to a team of pharmacists from the Trust whose participation in a Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship project, in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University and Makerere University, Uganda was recognised at the Antibiotic Guardian Awards 2020.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare’s innovative ophthalmology team has been leading the way nationally, not only by being one of the first NHS trusts to have resumed surgery just weeks after the first government-instigated lockdown in March but by charging ahead to tackle Buckinghamshire’s cataract surgery waiting list with a safe, sustainable approach throughout the pandemic and beyond.

Infections in Buckinghamshire are on the rise. To help reduce the risk of infection, people attending appointments in Trust healthcare facilities are asked to come alone to reduce the number of people in waiting rooms and allow social distancing measures to be maintained.

Trust Occupational Therapy team demonstrates total commitment to life enhancing therapy in National Occupational Therapy week

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Saturday 31 October, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is keen to encourage all in the local community to attend their booked outpatient appointments, planned operations and scans and seek help in a medical emergency.

Congratulations to the Trust Breast Unit team on successfully completing the MagTeam100 challenge to raise funds for UK charity Prevent Breast Cancer by walking, cycling and, in some cases, running, 100 miles during Breast Cancer Awareness month this October.

Cancer specialists and representatives from the Trust recently took part in an online event alongside other healthcare colleagues from across the region. The event, which took place on 20 October 2020, was organised by Healthwatch to provide an opportunity for patients to hear an update about cancer services in Buckinghamshire.

Many congratulations to Helen Bewley, who has been awarded an Order of the British Empire medal (BEM) for her services to pathology during COVID-19. Helen, lead anatomical pathology technician (APT) and head of the mortuary team, has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours announced at the weekend.

Congratulations to Molly Chibvuri, Interim Matron Intensive Care Unit, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, who has won the inaugural South East Royal College of Nursing Black History Month ‘Making a Difference Award’.

The Brookside Centre in Aylesbury is undergoing repair work following a recent flood. Sexual Health Services (bSHaW), located on the first floor, remain open while other clinics and services situated on the ground floor of Brookside are being relocated, where possible, until repair work is completed. All patients affected by this disruption are being notified by service teams and partner teams.

Congratulations to our winners at this year’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network Thames Valley and South Midlands (LCRN) staff awards.

The Trust has launched a short information video about the steps taken to meet the challenges of COVID-19 and the plans developed to ensure everyone in the local area receives the care they need, now and over the months ahead.

Parking charges at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will be reintroduced across all sites from Thursday 1 October.

Out of 22 trusts up and down the country Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is currently the top recruiting Trust taking part in the COVID-19 Detection Dogs study (as of Friday 18 September).

The Trust is pleased to be able to ease its visitor restrictions further in maternity.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is reminding local residents to not come to the Emergency Department (A&E) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital to request a COVID-19 test.

On Tuesday 8 September Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust were delighted to unveil the new organ donor memorial at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

On Tuesday 8 September Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust were delighted to unveil the new organ donor memorial at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Local artist, Becky Gouverneur, has kindly completed and donated ten charcoal portraits of frontline Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust staff.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is looking to recruit new healthcare assistants (HCAs) to work across the county by the end of October 2020.

Following a thorough assessment by the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Team, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will be reopening more community services in September.

Congratulations to our Trust research team, shortlisted in this year’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network Thames Valley and South Midlands (LCRN) staff awards.

The Trust is pleased to be able to ease its visitor restrictions for women attending 12 week antenatal scan appointments. From Monday 24 August, one adult companion will be permitted to accompany those attending their 12 week pregnancy scans.

Ways into and out of Trust hospital buildings are being restricted to limit the risk of COVID-19 infection and to help keep all patients, visitors and members of staff safe. Designated entrances and exits are already in place at Wycombe and Amersham hospitals and will be introduced at Stoke Mandeville Hospital from Wednesday 19 August.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust staff are playing a vital role in a major trial to see if bio-detection dogs can sniff out coronavirus in humans.

On Wednesday 5 August the Trust eased restrictions to allow visitors back into its hospitals. For each patient, one visitor will be allowed to visit for one hour, once a day from Monday to Friday.

Our Haematology triage telephone line at Wycombe Hospital is currently unavailable

The external phone line for Maternity is currently unavailable due to a technical issue and cannot receive external phone calls.

New figures released this week reveal there were 4 deceased organ donors at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust last year, helping save or improve the lives of people desperately in need of a transplant.

Aylesbury United Juniors FC under 9’s raised an amazing £2,500 for Ward 8 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

The Trust has joined with 5 other NHS trusts in the regional, which together serve more than three million people, to harness state-of-the-art technology to help clinicians make the right decisions so that more patients recover following stroke.

Many of the NHS services that were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic are now being restored, with more to come over the coming weeks and months as Buckinghamshire moves into the second phase of its COVID-19 response.

July is Group B Strep Awareness Month, an annual campaign to highlight the importance of Group B Strep awareness, education and research.

The Trust has become the latest NHS specialist stroke centre to adopt the Brainomix e-Stroke Suite imaging platform in its stroke unit.

Parking at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will remain free across all sites until Saturday 1 August. This is in line with Buckinghamshire Council who have recently announced that free parking in all council owned car parks and on-street pay and display bays will continue until 1 August.

Local resident, Peter Thomas, kindly donated two brand new Ecosmo 20” fold-up bikes (worth £250 each) to help BHT staff get to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Community Nutrition Nurse Specialist Jan Knight has been awarded the status of Queen’s Nurse, by the Queen’s Nursing Institute in recognition of her commitment to promoting the highest standards of patient care in the community.

Congratulations to Dr Raha West and the Trust ICU team on the contribution they made to the success of the Recovery Trial its discovery of a drug proven to be of positive benefit to COVID-19 patients. Dexamethasone, one of the drugs tested on COVID-19 patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital as part of the research trial, is the first drug to show reduced risk of dying by a third in ventilated patients and a fifth in those receiving oxygen only.

From 15 June, we are asking patients and visitors to wear a face covering at all times when visiting our hospitals, or services we provide in the community. Wearing a face covering will help to limit the spread of Covid-19, and protect others from the virus.

On 13 June a group of overseas nurses recruited to Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will finally be able to sit their Occupational English Test (OET), a required part of their Nursing and Midwifery Council Registration. Tests had been cancelled since March in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic.

This year people across the country are facing new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Many are taking on caring responsibilities for relatives and friends who may be disabled, ill or elderly and who need support. Carers Week, which runs from 8-14 June this year, provides an opportunity to recognise their unseen dedication and work. The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Making caring visible’.

A retired Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) surgeon is fundraising to help to improve the wellbeing of current BHT staff during the COVID-19 pandemic by cycling a distance of 874 miles.

This National Breastfeeding Celebration week (1-7 June 2020), the theme is supporting breastfeeding during COVID-19.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been celebrating Volunteers Week 2020 (1-7 June 2020) by showing support for the hundreds of local people who have given their time to support the Trust.

Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workforce and our need to ensure the safety of all women and babies in our care, the Trust has taken the decision to extend the suspension of births at Wycombe Birth Centre until the 1 September 2020.

If you have a symptom that you are worried about, you must contact your GP Practice.

On Tuesday 26 May 2 star Michelin chef Tom Kerridge, Andy Agar and Chris Hughes visited both Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville hospitals and delivered their 50,000th meal to Trust staff, as part of Meals from Marlow.

Thomas Hearn climbed the equivalent height of Mount Everest (29,029 feet) by stepping up and off a 24 inch box. His achievement raised over £5,000 for frontline BHT staff working in COVID-19 areas.

A list of the opening times for local pharmacies across Buckinghamshire over the late May Bank Holiday 2020.

The Trust is among 170 NHS providers actively recruiting COVID-19 patients to participate in a ground-breaking new study of the disease. The study has been set up to help us better understand the virus’ varied effects on people and support the search for treatments by examining the genomes of 20,000 people who are severely ill with COVID-19.

Max and Keira’s Law – the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act, has come into effect today, 20 May 2020.

A section of Whielden Lane will be unavailable to traffic from 18 May until 4 July to facilitate HS2 survey works. Diversions are in place for those travelling to the hospital by bus or by car.

Your NHS services in Buckinghamshire are asking you to please be alert to the symptoms of stroke in yourself and other people – and to Help Us Help You by urgently calling 999 to get the right treatment as quickly as possible.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of a much loved member of our nursing team, Jun Terre, aged 52, who passed away yesterday having tested positive for Covid-19.

Four year old Penelope took part in the 2.6 Challenge and completed a 2.6km bike ride. Her initial target was to raise £260 but through lots of support and generous donations she has raised over £1,000.

International nurses day provides an opportunity to celebrate our brilliant nurses. It also marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, ‘the lady with the lamp’. So it is fitting we use the symbol of her lamp to shine the light on our nursing talent. Please Shine a Light for our Trust nurses at 8pm this evening to show your support and join our International Nurses Day 2020 celebrations.

Video: Ivy Reeves isn’t celebrating her 100th birthday quite as she’d planned, but nursing staff at Wycombe Hospital have been determined to give her the best day possible, regardless of the coronavirus outbreak.

Your NHS in Buckinghamshire is urging anyone who is concerned they may have cancer symptoms not to waste a moment in contacting their health services during the coronavirus pandemic.

Working together is the key to tackling the coronavirus - and the joint efforts of BMI Healthcare and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust have been an incredible example of this as they rallied to keep some of the most vulnerable patients in the county safe.

NHS services across Buckinghamshire are reminding people that hospital Emergency Departments and GP services are still here for them and still safe to use, despite the coronavirus outbreak.

We know how important it is for families and friends to keep in touch with loved ones in hospital. The Trust has therefore set up a ‘letters to a loved one’ scheme so families and friends can send personal letters via a dedicated email address bht.lettertoalovedone@nhs.net.

The Trust is actively involved in a national clinical trial called The RECOVERY Trial. This urgent study, supported by Public Health England and the Department of Health aims to identify treatments that may be beneficial for adults hospitalised with COVID-19.

Two dedicated Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust nurses took their expertise global as they travelled thousands of miles to Mexico to care for stricken coronavirus patients who needed to fly home to Britain.

The Trust Charitable Fund launched the appeal on Tuesday 7 April with the support of Mix96, with the aim of raising £10,000 to provide extra support for staff during these challenging times.

Car park C, the closest visitor car park to the A&E entrance of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, will be unavailable from the afternoon of Thursday 16 April until the morning of Tuesday 21 April. This is to facilitate ongoing building improvement work on the site.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been overwhelmed by kind donations of Easter eggs for their 6,000 staff and hospital patients.

Our staff across Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) are working are extremely hard. Many are working in unfamiliar surroundings, longer shifts, extra days and are having to spend a lot of time away from home and their families to ensure we can care for our most vulnerable patients.

In anticipation of the increased demand for critical care due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has announced a number of temporary changes to services to ensure that staff can be redeployed to areas where they are most needed and patient safety is not compromised.

Volunteers are needed for key support roles at the main hospitals sites - Amersham, Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville.

In an incredibly short amount of time local Buckinghamshire man Colin Campsie and his friends raised £1,500 and with this bought a fresh fruit and vegetables, with help from The Cape restaurant in Beaconsfield, for critical frontline NHS staff at the Trust.

Parking charges have been suspended effective immediately at all Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust hospital and community sites for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic for the public and staff.

The Trust has taken the decision to move all clinically appropriate outpatient appointments to a non-face-to-face setting. We are currently in the process of informing all patients whose appointment will be changed from a hospital based appointment to a consultation over the phone.

Sadly, we can confirm that 2 patients who were being cared for at Wycombe Hospital and 2 patients who were being cared for at Stoke Mandeville Hospital have died.

In line with national guidance BHT is suspending all non-urgent operations. Urgent and emergency cases and cancer treatments will continue as normal. We know many people waiting for treatment will be disappointed or worried and we will contact everyone affected as soon as possible.

Sadly, we can confirm that a man who was being cared for at Wycombe Hospital has died. The patient was in his late 70s, was admitted with underlying health conditions and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

Restrictions on visitors to all our inpatient wards have been applied at Stoke Mandeville, Wycombe, Amersham and Buckingham hospitals.

The Trust is pleased to announce that it has been selected to be one of the pilot sites for the government’s new digital aspirant programme, run by NHSX.

A small number of patients at Wycombe Hospital and Stoke Mandeville Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The patients are being cared for appropriately at the hospitals where they continue to be monitored and treated.

Our main priority is to keep our staff and our patients safe. Due to an infection control risk, we have temporarily closed Ward 9 to new admissions and visitors at Wycombe Hospital as a precautionary measure in line with new Public Health England guidelines.

The latest information on symptoms of Coronovirus infection and areas where recent travel may have resulted in a high risk of exposure can be found on nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need medical help and advise you what to do.

The Trust is currently imposing restrictions on visitors permitted onto Waterside Ward at Amersham Hospital. This is a preventative measure to limit the potential risk of norovirus infection (also known as winter sickness bug).

For the latest information about the risks of catching the virus in the UK and what to do to help prevent the virus spreading please visit: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) staff celebrated local healthcare heroes at the annual staff awards on Thursday 13 February.

A message from Public Health England: The NHS in Buckinghamshire and Public Health England (PHE) are extremely well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The NHS has put in place measures to ensure the safety of all patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.

Thanks to the generosity of Scannappeal supporters Wycombe Hospital's brand new MRI scanner has arrived on site. A meticulously planned operation saw the scanner, the first of its kind in the UK, arrive by a crane on Saturday 25 January.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is working in partnership with Buckinghamshire College Group to deliver on-the-job experience to future healthcare workers and create career pathways for young people. The Trust is the third in the UK to be offering this experience, following on from pioneer projects in Cumbria and Norfolk.

The Trust has recently received a generous donation from the Wycombe Wanderers Ex-Players Association after their former player and manager, Peter Suddaby was treated there.

For the latest information and health advice about Wuhan novel coronavirus please visit the public health information page.

The Trust Health Visiting Service has been awarded the prestigious Baby Friendly Award and is the latest UK health care facility to win international recognition from Unicef (United Nation’s Children’s Fund).

The Rainbow Badge initiative, seeks to make a positive difference by promoting a message of inclusion for all. Launching the initiative at BHT provides staff with an opportunity to demonstrate that the Trust offers open, non-judgemental and inclusive care for patients who identify as LGBTQ+

We are delighted to announce that Karen Bonner has been appointed as chief nurse at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT). Karen will start her new role on 30 March 2020. Karen Bonner has extensive experience working in a number of large complex organisations including the Royal Free, St George’s, Barts Healthcare, Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. She is currently at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The Trust is currently imposing restrictions on visitors permitted onto our adult wards at Stoke Mandeville and Amersham hospitals. This is a preventative measure to limit the potential spread of the highly infectious norovirus that is circulating in the community.

As is normal at this time of year, flu and norovirus are circulating within the community and some of our inpatient wards are affected at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Visiting will be restricted in areas experiencing flu and norovirus. We will try to contact a patient’s next of kin to inform them of any restrictions in advance, but if you are unsure please check before visiting by calling the appropriate ward.

The Trust is excited to be launching the first of its new continuity of carer midwifery teams working within the community and attached to Wycombe and Aylesbury birth centres. This is part of the maternity transformation programme which seeks to implement the vision set out in the Better Births* review and the NHS Long term plan for improving maternity services in the UK. The Trust is also launching a new app this month to support women from the start of pregnancy to early parenthood. The mum & baby app will be available for all women across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West.

Our accident and emergency department at Stoke Mandeville Hospital is very busy at the moment. Please make use of the range of alternative options available for non-emergency situations to ensure you get the appropriate care you need and save yourself an unnecessary trip to A&E.

Have you always wanted to test yourself in the London Marathon or take part in a world-class closed-road cycling event? Now you can! And what’s more, by registering to part through our Trust Charitable Fund you'll be challenging yourself in support of a very good cause – your local NHS.