A LEADING doctor has warned that patient care at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury is on the brink of collapse.

Senior management face "dreadful" consequences unless urgent action is taken to avert a staffing crisis, he said in a leaked internal letter.

Dr Mike Finnegan, clinical director of medicine, urged bosses to make crucial decisions "very soon".

He predicted an exodus of key staff at a time when important posts were already waiting to be filled.

One hospital ward and a unit for critically-ill patients has already had to be closed due to understaffing.

Dr Finnegan said problems were set to mount. Nurse and junior doctor numbers were critically low.

The letter, addressed to Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Chris Appleby, follows a circular to staff about closure of the hospital's high dependency unit due to a lack of nurses. A day case ward has also been shut because of under-staffing.

Dr Finnegan wrote: "I am warning you now that it is my belief that Fairfield Hospital is very close to collapsing as a functional unit.

"Staffing levels are dangerously low and unless you take radical decisions very soon, something dreadful will happen. I do not use these words lightly. I have thought long and hard before writing this letter and I write it out of a great sense of concern for Fairfield Hospital, its staff, and the patients it attempts to serve."

Acting hospital director Trevor Jones said: "As with many hospitals nationally, Fairfield General Hospital faces major challenges with respect to attracting and retaining staff.

"We are in the process of successfully recruiting new staff to replace them."

"The hospital is carefully managing this process and ensuring robust arrangements are in place to ensure we maintain services to our patients during this time."

Dr Finnegan said the letter had been intended solely for internal communication and that discussions had taken place with senior trust management about future investment.