A PERSHORE couple are incensed at the possibility of The Willows at Evesham Community Hospital closing in a bid to save the Primary Care Trust money.

Ray Lewis, of Woodward Road, said that his wife Pat had a stroke seven years ago and, after the initial nursing at the then Worcester Royal Infirmary, was transferred to The Willows.

"This ward is one of the best in the country and my wife progressed rapidly there," Mr Lewis said. "After six weeks she was allowed home and apart from an assessment about three years ago, she has recovered a good 95 per cent."

He pointed out that when Sir Harry Secombe opened The Willows he praised the care given to patients to help them recover from various levels of stroke damage. Now the PCT had told the hospital the ward may close along with the orthopaedic ward which would be transferred to Kidderminster.

Responding to the suggestion by Mike Ridley, chief executive of the PCT, that people might prefer to be treated at home, Mr Lewis said: "How can someone in his capacity realise what is required during the weeks immediately after a stroke. Only the doctors and nurses treating patients following the trauma of a stroke really know what is required."

He added: "Mike Ridley is living in an unreal world. All these bureaucrats see is the saving of money, not the needs of people. "

"It is time that Government stops lying to the people and listens to what is needed, not how much money can be saved with a pat on the back for the local authorities for doing so," he said.