Wards close in six weeks
Wirral hospital wards for the elderly will close in just six weeks' time.Campaigners fought for more than a year to save Wards Six and Seven at Victoria Central Hospital in Wallasey.
But last week the government backed a decision by health chiefs to shut them.
Health minister Lord Warner has insisted on guarantees that the wards will be maintained during winter in case it is necessary to re-open them and asked for regular monitoring of the situation.
Around 50 staff were called to a meeting on Friday to be told their fate.
There was a stunned silence as Frank Burns, chief executive of Wirral Hospital Trust, announced the closures and assured staff they would be redeployed within the trust.
He told them: "There is no easy way to say this, but a decision has been made to close the two wards.
"I do not under-estimate the effect these closures will have on staff but we will do everything in our power to help them fulfil their aspirations within the trust."
Admissions stopped on Monday and the wards will now be wound down.