Closure of The Mount Hospital, Bishopstoke, won't be brought further forward after all.

Wednesday, September 15th, is when its remaining elderly patients - those who can't be discharged or found places at residential homes - move to a temporary ward at Winchester's Royal Hampshire County Hospital.

But the date was only confirmed yesterday (Thursday) when the Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust said it had been able to find cover for a night-shift nurse with a broken arm.

"Additional short-term trained nurse cover has been secured up until that time to ensure safe levels of staffing," said a spokesman.

Helen Hooper, senior rehabilitation nurse, had told Monday's meeting of the trust board of the difficulties encountered in finding sick-leave cover: "We really are very concerned that we cannot cover the shift from the end of this week," she said.

Pat Petrie, divisional general manager for medicine and elderly care, added: "This just goes to show how fragile the service is."

Trust chairman, Barbara North, praised staff for their hard work in keeping The Mount going as long as they had. Referring to the last of its patients, she said every one would be given an individual care plan, drawn up under supervision of senior clinical staff, to help ensure that the best was being done for them in relation to their needs.

The trust had previously said the 26-bed rehabilitation hospital would remain open until next year. But it was then unable to recruit enough experienced staff to ensure that a clinically-safe service could continue there beyond September.

The decision to bring closure forward by a year without consulting the public prompted Hampshire County Council's health review committee to ask for an explanation - and it subsequently accepted that the urgency of the situation was adequate reason.

However, the committee was "deeply disappointed" that little progress had been made in "identifying the options" on how rehabilitation services could continue to be provided locally.

The trust says it is now working with the PCTs and social services on a suitable replacement service.