WORK to reopen part of the new Clitheroe Community Hospital won’t be completed until late December according to bosses.

Up to 10 beds have been affected since July after part of the floor was discovered to have disbonded and caused the vinyl to bubble.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Martin Morgan, director of estates and facilities for East Lancashire NHS Trust, has said that the drying out process was taking approximately 30 days per area, with the ward partitioned into four sections. The problems emerged on the Ribblesdale Ward two months after the £7.8 million building opened in May Russ McLean, chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group, said: “I’m extremely disappointed that it will take so long to get the ward fully back up and running.

“It’s sad that all this money has been spent but the hospital is still experiencing problems.

“One might expect teething problems but nothing like this.

“There is a high demand on patient beds throughout the year, and even more so in the winter, so patients will suffer because of this.

“I do speak to the chief executive of the trust on a regular basis and this is something that I will bring up with him.”

Mr Morgan said: “The flooring work at Clitheroe Community Hospital has been programmed in seven phases to allow the ward to remain operational.

“The first phase of the programme is complete and the second phase was handed back to the ward at the end of September.

“The third phase of the work started immediately after with a four week programme to dry, screed, relay, seal and clean the area.

“There is a predicted programme of work but it is ultimately dependent on how the floor dries out once the existing vinyl has been removed.”