HEALTH bosses today denied any plans to close St Luke's Hospital in Huddersfield.
Their statement came after staff feared the axe was to fall on the Crosland Moor site.
The Examiner revealed last week that one ward for elderly patients is to shut temporarily until winter.
Now it is claimed that two other wards are under threat.
One worried worker said: "The gossip is that the whole place could shut in two or three years.
"Nothing gets repaired properly and you get the feeling the whole place is being run down. It stinks."
Staff are worried that Ward 8, a stroke rehabilitation ward and Ward 9, which rehabilitates the elderly, could be closed. Earlier this year it was revealed that South-West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust plans to close at least one ward, which deals with acute admissions for mental health patients.
The plan is to offer more outpatient care, home care and 24-hour support services to help people live independently.
Meanwhile, bosses at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust today said the closure claims were wrong.
A spokesman said: "There are no plans to close Wards 8 and 9 at St Luke's."
He added: "The trust, the mental health trust and the local primary care trusts all share facilities on the St Luke's site.
"Any plans to develop or change services there would need to involve all parties - and no such formal discussions have been held."
A spokeswoman for the mental health trust said: "No discussions have been held over the future of St Luke's."
