A HUGE petition has been handed in at Parliament protesting against plans to axe five wards at Halton Hospital.
More than 23,000 people signed the petition demanding the dropping of proposals to switch acute care from Halton Hospital to Warrington General.
The plan, drawn up by North Cheshire Hospitals Trust, would mean only day patients would be treated at Halton Hospital.
Residents and trades unions, led by Pauline Warrener, have formed the Hang on to Halton campaign to demand a rethink.
The petition, handed in by Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall, urges the Department of Health to put pressure on the North Cheshire trust to rescue the wards at Halton Hospital.
It reads: 'These proposals are causing great concern to the people of Run-corn.'
North Cheshire's deficit is predicted to grow from just £700,000 to £6.8m by the end of the current financial year.
The cash crisis has been blamed largely on the introduction of a new funding formula called 'payments-by-results'.
The new formula is designed to make the NHS more efficient by replacing block grants with a standard payment across England for each treatment performed.
Halton Council has also expressed its concerns about the plans to switch acute care from the borough.
The Hospital Trust's consultation document described the plans as leading to 'better care and sustainable services'. Halton Hospital, it said, would be developed into a centre of excellence for all planned care, daycare surgery, diagnostic services and cancer treatment.
Launching the plans, Allan Massey, chairman of North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'We recognise that proposals to change the way hospitals provide services may cause some patients concern, but we should not assume that everything is as good as it could be and no improvements can be made.
