HEALTH bosses proposing to close a ward for the elderly at Fairfield Hospital have agreed to extend the consultation period by eight weeks.

The controversial money-saving proposals to close the 27 beds on Ward 30 sparked a backlash from ward nurses and the public after it was revealed that only staff would be involved in a 30-day consultation, due to end this Sunday.

Calls were made for a full three-month public consultation on the issue amid concerns the Pennine Acute Trust was breaching the 2001 Health and Social Care Act. Under Section 11 of the legislation, NHS trusts must consult with patients and the public before it can decide to cut or close services.

At a meeting of the trust's overview and scrutiny committee last week, Bury councillors urged health bosses to undertake further consultation, claiming the proposed closure represented a significant change of service and was therefore subject to the provisions of the 2001 act.

The trust has now agreed and is seeking legal advice on what can be classed as a "significant change" to services. Tom Wilders, executive director of strategic planning, said: "It remains the view of the trust that this reduction in beds does not represent a significant change in service. Because we have, over a number of years, been reducing the length of stay that patients spend in hospital, the occupancy rates of beds has been falling steadily. The occupancy rate for medical beds in Bury is 74 per cent. It would not represent value for money or best use of public funds to leave beds open when they are not occupied.

"Because of this we are able to continue to provide a comprehensive service to patients who require admission to hospitals, but using a fewer number of beds.

"The clear implication of this is that we are able to use our resources more effectively if we reorganise the way that our beds are provided by concentrating resources onto other wards and closing Ward 30. Therefore, as the service remains the same, we believe that this cannot be a significant change in service." The ward, which cares for elderly patients too ill to live in the community, is earmarked for closure as the trust battles debts of more than £28 million.

l In a letter to the Bury Times, leader of Bury Council, Councillor Wayne Campbell, criticised the trust.

He said: "There is a problem with our hospitals. It cannot be right that Ward 30 is being closed by stealth. I am told that in advance of the closure, four beds are being withdrawn at a time. What is wrong at Pennine Acute Trust? Local people are suffering and it is time that attention is paid to the structural make-up of the trust.

"Bury people need to be assured that at a time when unprecedented resources are being pumped into the NHS, that their services will not be cut again."