FAIRFIELD Day Hospital could shut. Hospital chiefs are considering closing the elderly out-patient facility.

Staff, who have over the years raised money to buy leisure equipment for the unit, are said to be "very upset" at moves to close the facility.

About 70 elderly patients receive a mix of medical and social care treatments at the day hospital in the grounds of Fairfield General.

But The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which is responsible for the day hospital, said that its initial assessment of the medical needs of 50 of the patients found that the vast majority of users "required only social care".

Stephen Fray, the trust's divisional director for medicine, insisted that acute hospitals were not suited to providing social care.

A person connected to the centre said: "Staff are very upset the centre will close. They had to ask for a meeting with management to discuss what was going on.

"Staff have raised money to buy equipment like CD players. It is a warm, comfortable, social environment where the elderly can play games, listen to music and have meals while waiting for treatment."

Mr Fray said: "There is widespread recognition of the importance of social care as part of a rounded package of help for individual patients.

"But there is a general acceptance of the importance of using hospital facilities and resources for treatment which can only be offered in hospitals.

"This is not just because of of the pressures on NHS hospital services, but also because there is a move towards increasing the number of health services offered in the community, by GPs, community-based nurses and pharmacists."

He said that no decision on the day hospital would be made until after "discussions" with staff and patients.

Mr Fray said that Bury Primary Care Trust and social services would also be consulted over plans to close the unit.

"Any such reprovision of services, it if occurs, opens up the possibility of services being provided from the existing centre for patients requiring hospital care.

"We want to provide the right services, in the right places."