NURSES have vowed to fight plans to close an elderly care ward at Liverpool’s main hospital.

Staff and union representatives at the Royal Liverpool Hospital were told yesterday afternoon about a proposal to close specialist older people’s ward 2B.

Hospital chiefs have stressed the final decision is yet to be made and they are consulting staff on their views.

They added that the Trust is working with other organisations to speed up the discharge process and community care packages.

There will be no job losses, but nurses are concerned about their elderly patients, and have vowed to fight the plan.

One worker, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “They won’t tell us why, so I think they need to tell the people of Liverpool why. A&E is already overflowing with elderly patients – where are they going to go when this ward closes?

“They say we have about four weeks to comment on the decision, but we think it has already been decided.

“We will fight it, though.”

Another nurse said: “We feel that if they want to cut costs it is the elderly who suffer first.

“I just don’t know where they are going to go. We need the support of people in the city to try and stop this closure.”