MORE nurses have already been recruited to staff a Hampshire hospital at the centre of a closure row.

Health chiefs have barred Hythe Hospital from accepting any new admissions for at least three months sparking fears of a permanent closure.

But speaking at a meeting of the county council’s health overview and scrutiny committee yesterday, Sue Harriman, director of clinical excellence and delivery, said more staff had already been recruited and the aim was still to reopen to admissions in August.

Daily Echo: For a video of the top stories in today's Daily Echo, click the front page.

Details of the reason for the ban on admissions also emerged at the meeting.

Hampshire Community Health Care (HCHC), which runs the 90-year-old hospital, had previously said staff shortages had been the main reason for the ban.

But Ms Harriman said it was a combination of the potential contamination risk posed by a sluice room in the middle of the ward and lack of qualified nurses that led to the decision.

A sluice room is where bed pans are emptied and washed as well as sick pans kept and are often located off a corridor outside the communal patient area.

Ms Harriman said there had been three outbreaks of the winter vomiting and diarrohea bug since last January.

The location of the sluice room means nurses have to carry bed pans through the main ward even when infectious patients have been isolated in side rooms, creating a possible risk of contamination.

Cleanliness at the hospital had been good because permanent staff had managed well.

But the health chief said she took the “clinical decision”

to stop new admissions because staffing levels had dropped and the hospital was relying more on agency nurses.

At present, 12 out of 22 beds are open.

Ms Harriman said the feasibility of moving the sluice to another room – as suggested by the hospital league of friends – was currently being considered.

She was also unable to say exactly why the sluice had not been moved earlier if the risk was known, when questioned by vice chairman of the committee Councillor Pat West. She said it was an issue that had arisen before her time and repeated that it was a combination of that problem and the lack of staff.

Hythe Hospital cares for patients well enough to leave Southampton General Hospital but still requiring rehabilitation.