Nursing home bed closures are among the measures proposed to help an NHS Trust claw back a multi-million pound funding shortfall.

But Witham, Braintree and Halstead Care Trust has promised patients the overall level of service will not suffer.

The Trust is on course to run up a £6.9 million deficit by April, which is forecast to grow by £5 million a year if no action is taken.

Under cost-cutting plans outlined in a public consultation document, the Trust's 12 short-term nursing home beds six in Witham and six in Halstead would be axed, with services delivered to users in their own homes instead

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Published Wednesday, February 16, 2005

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