More than 900 people have demanded the return of accident and emergency services at Buckland Hospital.

A total of 928 signed an online petition to MP Charlie Elphicke by today.

It was set up by Sophia Maxx corr who says the service is badly needed in Dover as one of the world’s busiest ports.

But the hospitals trust responsible for deciding whether Buckland gets an A&E department has confirmed there are no plans to site an emergency unit at Dover.

Despite this Ms Maxx says that there is too much strain on existing A&E departments throughout Kent.

People living in the district have to go to the QEQM hospital at Margate or the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford if they require emergency assistance.

She added on her petition statement: “Our large elderly community have been the mainstay of this country over the decades, gave their time and their lives to serve this country and now, when they need help the most, it is embarrassingly unavailable.

“Not everyone can get to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, which is now our closest A&E department, and the waiting times have increased exponentially.

“As time goes on the infrastructure is constantly changing to meet the needs of an ever-increasing demand on traffic, which in itself adds to the increased need for A&E to be a permanent feature in the town as it is one of the busiest ports in the world.”

The only other A&E department left in east Kent is the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

Kent and Canterbury Hospital has not had a full-blown A&E for several years and even its lower-scale urgent care centre closed this June.

The new Buckland Hospital replaced the one at a neighbouring site two years ago but it is a community hospital with a minor injuries unit just like K&C now.

There has been no A&E at Buckland since the 1990s and none at K&C since 2005.

One signatory, Dover resident Augusta Pearson, placed the petition on her Facebook page.

She commented: “We are one of the busiest ports in the UK. Let’s put ourselves in a place where we can get immediate help for us and let’s make a hospital what it claims to be, rather than a medical centre, which we have for the moment.”

Dover and Deal MP Mr Elphicke told the Mercury: “For over a decade Buckland Hospital had been decimated. Services were withdrawn and wards axed one by one.

“We fought valiantly for a new hospital. Then two years ago the new Buckland Hospital opened to the public – a state-of-the-art facility.

“I am seeking a meeting with hospital chiefs to discuss bringing more outpatients and diagnostics services to the site. I’m working to see more services provided at Deal hospital too.”

A spokesman for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said: “Buckland Hospital provides services for minor injuries and illnesses, but life-threatening and serious injuries are treated at the emergency departments at Ashford and Margate.

“The NHS is working with the public and health service staff to develop proposals for which hospitals in east Kent should provide which services, including A&E services, as part of a Kent and Medway-wide strategy to transform health services.

"This strategy is called the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

“The proposals for east Kent will focus on the three main hospitals in Canterbury, Margate and Ashford.

"They will be consulted on as part of a public consultation led by the Clinical Commissioning Groups in east Kent, likely to be held early next year.

“There are no plans to provide full A&E services at Buckland Hospital.”

For further details on this story see this week's Dover and East Kent Mercuries.

n The petition can be viewed online at https://tinyurl.com/y8uk72pj