THE health trust proposing to close a ward at Fairfield Hospital caring for elderly people too ill to live at home will not be consulting the public over the plans - only the staff.

As reported in last week's Bury Times, 27 beds on Ward 30 are earmarked for closure as part of the Pennine Acute Trust's bid to reduce debts of more than £28 million.

The ward, which cares for elderly patients admitted to hospital who are unable to return home until an appropriate care package has been arranged, would be merged with the hospital's second rehabilitation ward, Ward 29, which has already seen nine beds close.

A 30-day consultation with ward staff began on September 22 after which a decision will be made on whether to implement the proposal. But there are no plans for a formal public consultation, as seen with the Making it Better and Healthy Futures plans.

Nurses, who have been told they will be relocated within the trust if the proposals go ahead, have reacted angrily to the plans and were aiming to meet with Bury MP David Chaytor yesterday afternoon.

Lending her support to the protest is former nurse Pat Morris who hit the headlines herself last month when she won a High Court battle challenging the closure of two rehabilitation wards for older people at Altrincham General Hospital.

The judge ruled Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust had acted unlawfully in its decision to close 26 beds in March without a public consultation, saying the "public expect to be involved in decisions by healthcare bodies, particularly when the issues involved are contentious."

Mrs Morris said: "Because this is classed as a significant change of services, the trust is required to have a three month full public consultation - not one month. If no one flags this up then the NHS are getting away with murder."

Under Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001, NHS trusts must consult with patients and the public before it can decide to cut or close services or make major changes.

It is required by law to give the public three months to respond to the changes.

However, there is no official definition in the regulations about what can be classed as a major change and it is up to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to establish an agreement with the trust on what is a substantial variation or development' of health services before a decision can be made on whether formal consultation is needed.

One nurse who spoke to the Bury Times and asked to remain anonymous, said staff were already being moved around - even though aspirational interviews were still taking place.

She said: "We were told that nothing can change until the consultation was over but one colleague had her interview and was asked where she would prefer to go. She said Rochdale and already she has been told she is being transferred to Rochdale. It is happening so fast, we cannot do anything about it. Babies and children are always so well supported when there are threats to their services but elderly people need help too."

Representatives from the nursing staff will be attending the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Pennine Acute Trust meeting on Tuesday along with Tom Wilders, director of strategic planning for the trust. If the committee agrees the issue is a substantial change to services, it has the power to refer it to the Secretary of State on the basis of inadequate consultation.