HEALTH bosses are being pressed to extend their consultation AND seek the views of patients and their families before deciding whether to close a ward for the elderly at Fairfield Hospital.

The plans could still be referred to the Secretary of State if the joint health overview and scrutiny committee for the Pennine Acute Trust believes proper consultation has not been carried out.

Ward 30 staff were originally told there would only be a 30-day consultation - ending on October 22 - and the public would not be asked for their views on proposals to close the ward with the loss of 27 beds.

But at a meeting of the trust's overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday, it was recommended that the consultation should be extended, after nurses spoke of their grave concerns.

Staff nurse Debra Walker, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of her colleagues, said: "We strive to support the most vulnerable people in our community.

"Without this care from the staff on ward 30, who will take on this role of keeping our elderly people safe?

"Winter is coming and we predict the bed crisis will be fundamental. All we are asking is for a full consultation process to be put in place so that we know this has been taken seriously. We are talking about 27 beds and the lives of the people in those beds."

Ward 30 cares for elderly patients admitted to the hospital who are unable to return home until an appropriate care package has been arranged. Some live on the ward for several weeks.

Tom Wilders, director for strategic planning, explained that the ward had been selected for closure because of its position on the first floor of the hospital and the low bed occupancy of another unit, ward 29, where patients will be treated in the future.

Mr Wilders said: "This is not a reflection of the standard of care on ward 29 or 30. We are looking at the overall care of patients in the hospital. We can reduce the number of beds at the hospital without detriment to patient care. Ward 29 and 30 both provide a rehabilitation service and that service will be maintained at Fairfield."

However, Mrs Walker and the other nurses at the meeting argued that, while ward 29 treats stroke patients of all ages, ward 30 cares for people over the age of 65 with a variety of conditions.

The concerns of the nurses were supported by the committee members, who asked Mr Wilders to extend the consultation to include more staff at the hospital, patients and their families, Bury Primary Care Trust, Bury Council, and the Patient and Public Involvement Forum.

Although the trust does not have to accept the recommendation, the committee could refer the matter to the Secretary of State if they do not believe that proper consultation has taken place.

The decision to request more consultation was backed by Bury Council's healthier communities scrutiny committee, which discussed the closure at their meeting on Tuesday evening.

Mrs Walker again spoke of her colleagues' concerns, with support from other nurses and Phil Kaiserman from Bury Pensioners' Association.

Staff nurse Pat Glover said: "Ward 29 has stroke patients of all ages but ward 30 is the only ward left in Bury for residents aged 65-years-old. There is no hospital in the area which provides a ward for just that age group."

Another staff nurse Andrea Yates said: "There is a great need for this ward."

Mr Kaiserman said: "It has often been said that we judge a society by the way it treats its elderly and its young. We saw how we treat our young with the proposed closure of the baby unit and I hope we do not do the same thing with the elderly.

"If we do not get a solution to this problem, I can assure you that I shall make sure that my organisation will take to the streets of Bury in protest."

Bury councillors spoke in support of the nurses' calls for a full consultation and agreed to endorse the request made by the joint health overview and scrutiny committee.

Councillor Roy Walker said: "We deserve a ward for the elderly. This hospital serves almost 300,000 people in Bury, Rossendale and Heywood and we need somewhere to care for them."

Councillor Derek Boden said: "We are quite convinced from all the evidence that there has not been adequate consultation. We only have an assertion that there will be no impact on patient care but no proof. I think we should support the decision to request more consultation."

Mr Wilders, who was also present at the meeting, said he could not confirm whether further consultation would take place. A decision is expected within a few days.

Mr Wilders said: "I have not yet spoken to my colleagues at the trust, but we will certainly take the decision very seriously."

The support of the councillors on the two committees was welcomed by the nurses and staff.

After the meeting, Mrs Walker said: "We still have no idea what will happen, but we are pleased with the recommendations that have been made today. Hopefully the trust will listen to the advice and hold a full consultation. We are determined to fight."

The planned closure is said to be part of Pennine Acute Trust's bid to tackle debts of more than £28 million.

The trust is closing 250 beds across its four hospitals: Fairfield, North Manchester, Royal Oldham and Rochdale Infirmary.It has already announced plans to sell off its headquarters in Oldham and 325 jobs are expected to be cut, though staff on ward 30 have been reassured they will be relocated rather than made redundant.