THE "mothballing'' of a ward has revived fears that a popular community hospital could face closure.

The shutting of ward four at Shotley Bridge Hospital, which is used for the rehabilitation of elderly patients, has provoked renewed concern about the hospital's future.

It follows a proposal last year to close the day surgery unit, which was dropped after funding was found to keep it going for a while.

The Labour leader of Derwentside District Council, Alex Watson, said he received an e-mail at the weekend from a member of staff who said that beds had been "closed'' to patients.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said that 19 beds have been mothballed, mainly because of under-occupancy.

Councillor Watson said: "I feel it is death by 1,000 cuts, despite assurances from the trust that Shotley Bridge Hospital won't close.

"While we have been assured by the foundation trust that this is a mothballing exercise, no one can be surprised to discover that people in Derwentside will see this as merely a staging post on the way to permanent closure.

"Recently completed reports painted a very positive future for the hospital and, while we are pleased to hear the foundation trust will be briefing the staff at the hospital about those findings, this news only makes the need for action more urgent.

"I will be expecting there to be substantial progress at the next scheduled meeting on September 6 between the local councils, the foundation trust and the primary care trust."

The council plans to invite representatives of Derwentside's GPs, who commission local services, to outline their views on the area's health needs and possible plans for the hospital to be run by them, the council and the primary care trust.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement that 19 beds in the ward had been closed for some weeks due to "low occupancy and staffing issues".

The statement added that rather than run with two half wards, the decision was made to rationalise the beds into one ward.

It added that the move would not have any impact on other services provided at Shotley Bridge.