A cancer patient treated at a vital hospital ward set to close has spoken out about the move which could see jobs go.

Derwent ward, which looks after rheumatology, haematology and general medicine patients, is due to be closed from level six in the Esher Wing at Kingston Hospital by the end of February.

The closure means 20 beds out of 500 will go in a bid to make £2.6m in savings.

Richard Cranefield said he was sad to hear of the closure of the ward that kept him alive during his treatment for leukaemia for nearly a month last year.

The 37-year-old Kingston man said: “The team up on Derwent that treated me, I couldn’t fault them at all, the doctors were fantastic and the nurses were really professional and made the experience a lot more bearable.

“I know my disease will return and I’d like to think the same support will be available when it does.”

A hospital spokesman could not confirm if the closure would result in any redundancies but said a consultation was in progress.

A Unison spokesman said the threat of job losses and the reduction in beds were a major concern.

The spokesman said: “We are still very concerned, we have been up to the wards and spoken to the staff. "They are very concerned about their future employment.

“It is purely a cost cutting exercise.”

However, the hospital said that reduced lengths of patient stays meant the need for beds had decreased.

A spokesman for Kingston Hospital said in the past 12 months the average hospital stay had been reduced from seven days to between five and six days.

She said: “As most of our patients are now spending less time in hospital, we don’t need as many beds.

"As a result of this, the decision to close beds in Derwent ward has been made so that resources can be reallocated where they are needed most.

"This has been decided with the best interests of staff and patients, and it is expected that those working on Derwent ward will be relocated to equivalent posts in other areas of the hospital.”

The news comes as the 22-bed private unit of Kingston Hospital, BMI Coombe Wing, confirmed it was making one administrative member of staff redundant.

The NHS as a whole is looking to save £20bn by 2015 and all hospitals, including Kingston, are expected to contribute to these savings.

Christians slam plan to replace care assistants

A Christian group have blasted plans by Kingston Hospital to axe staff who provide basic care to patients.

The hospital plans to replace 31.84 healthcare assistants who empty patients’ bedpans and make sure meals are eaten, with 19.59 junior nurses.

Kingston Hospital said the nurses were better qualified than the healthcare assistants.

But the Christian People’s Alliance (CPA) Kingston cited a report in the Nursing Times, which found healthcare assistants had closer relationships with patients than nurses.

Parliamentary spokesman for Richmond Park Sue May, who lives in Chessington, said: "There is an assumption that better qualified nurses will do a better job than experienced healthcare assistants.

"But Kingston residents deserve proper evidence for that claim and an assurance that nurses will actually carry out the vital work that healthcare assistants do.

"Kingston Hospital said it was working to improve the skill mix ratio on its wards in line with the Royal College of Nursing recommendations."