A DECISION on whether to close a hospital ward as part of ‘reconfiguring’ plans will be made in the next few weeks.

An orthopaedic ward at Warrington Hospital has been threatened with closure as the trust looks to ‘more effectively utilise’ its number of beds by ‘decompressing’ the site.

The 20-bed ward is one of three across Warrington and Halton Hospitals and has been at the centre of a consultation that closed earlier this month on Friday, October 14.

Now a decision on whether to shut the hospital ward, which focusses on injuries and diseases to the musculoskeletal system, is expected early next month.

A spokesman for Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The formal consultation relating to the reconfiguration of our orthopaedic service closed on October 14 with further discussions continuing with staff who had not by then had the opportunity to be involved.

“As no preconceived solutions were in place we are now working through all the many suggestions that have come forward from staff as to how we can best deliver orthopaedic services for patients across the populations we service in the future.

“We expect to have a clear proposal in early November and which we will be pleased to share thereafter.”

The Warrington Guardian understands that the two remaining orthopaedic wards at Warrington and Halton Hospitals will have additional beds put in them in order to compensate if the decision to close the ward is taken.

Jobs are unlikely to be lost if the orthopaedic ward closes, but staff will be given other roles within the hospital trust – although this could mean employees will work at Halton Hospital rather than their present location at the Lovely Lane site.