HEALTH board chiefs have shot down rumours that the frail and elderly ward at the Community Hospital in Cumnock could be axed.

Worried staff at the East Ayrshire Community Hospital (EACH) on Ayr Road have been left fearing the future of the ward following a dramatic decrease in patients being admitted to the frail and elderly ward in recent weeks.

Nursing staff have been shipped to other hospitals across Ayrshire.

One concerned nurse, who contacted the Chronicle anonymously for fear of being sacked for speaking out, said: "We've had just four patients admitted in the last two or three weeks. It's usually always busy but it's has been so quiet recently that we think that the health board may want to shut the ward. I've never known it to be this quiet.

"Staff have been sent to other hospitals such as Kirklandside (Kilmarnock) and Ayr Hospital. Now, you're not telling me that there's no elderly people in the likes of Cumnock that are being admitted to hospital."

A second nurse, who also wished to remain anonymous, added: "They are sending us in taxis to other hospitals. Now, that doesn't bother me working elsewhere, but it's costing a fortune.

"We think they are trying to shut the frail and elderly ward. It would be an injustice if that's what happened."

NHS Ayrshire and Arran bosses batted away similar suggestions in September 2014. The Chronicle reported how staff were left fearing for their futures when they were being ferried around Ayrshire in taxis costing up to £30 a time.

EACH opened its doors in 2000 and has proved controversial. Health bosses had to shelve plans for a £3million state-of-the-art dental facility in 2011 - four months after work had already began.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran are now claiming that it expects a fresh intake of patients at EACH as the winter months close in.

Director of East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Eddie Fraser said: "Over the past few weeks some wards in East Ayrshire Community Hospital have experienced lower levels of occupancy. While inpatient numbers do fluctuate we expect that numbers will rise over the coming months as we move into winter.

"Inpatient occupancy for East Ayrshire Community Hospital over the past year has been, on average, 76 per cent. When inpatient numbers are low in some wards we will, on occasion, move staff to wards with higher numbers of patients to support safe patient care.

"I would like to offer continued reassurance that East Ayrshire Community Hospital is very much part of our future plans. It is an important part of our infrastructure to provide the highest quality integrated health and social care services to our local communities."