FARNHAM Hospital is facing a crisis after staff morale was crushed by a bullying scandal and nurses made clear their intention to walk out in disgust over the decision by health chiefs to temporarily close highly valued day-hospital facilities. A senior member of staff at Farnham Hospital, who wishes to remain anonymous, has spoken to The Herald about how staff morale has plummeted to an all-time low after health chiefs decided to close the Norman Day Hospital on Mondays until the end of March and to ignore an alleged "major" bullying case that took place on the Bentley Ward. The Norman Day Hospital closed on Monday, January 9, and will remain closed on every Monday until the end of March as the Guildford and Waverley Primary Care Trust (PCT) continues to try to make financial savings as it attempts to avoid starting the next financial year with a possible debt of £26 million. "The day hospital is now closed all day on Mondays and staff at the hospital are very upset about it," the senior staff member told The Herald. "It has closed because of a lack of funding and it is just not good enough. It's the elderly patients who will suffer but this seems to have been ignored." A spokesman for the PCT confirmed that the day-hospital facilities had been closed because of financial reasons. "The Norman Day Hospital at Farnham will be closed on a Monday until the end of March," he said. "We have been able to do this because there is some spare capacity during the rest of the week. This allows us to make financial savings on agency and locum staff, while maintaining services. This move has been agreed with the lead clinicians and it will be monitored closely to ensure all patients requiring treatment continue to receive it appropriately." Yet the PCT's decision has been blasted by Jeremy Hunt, MP for South West Surrey, who has been an outspoken critic of the PCT's proposals to carry out a major cull of local hospital beds as it bids to cut costs. "At a time when both the government and the medical profession are stressing the importance of prompt treatment closer to people's homes, it is appalling to learn that these facilities at Farnham Hospital are having to close on Mondays due to a lack of funds and therefore force its patients to find an alternative," said Mr Hunt. "It is ridiculous to think that in this day and age you have to remember not to fall sick on a Monday if you want to be treated locally." Mr Hunt's opinions have been supported by Surrey county councillor David Munro. "While I sympathise with the PCT about its financial position I am disturbed and worried about this news," said Mr Munro. "Once you get into a spiral of decline it can only get worse. The hospital is a wonderful facility but if a facility like this closes, then it can make the whole hospital uneconomic and an easier target to close next time. By closing facilities like this you are wasting the money originally put into them." Staff morale has been further eroded after an investigation into bullying of staff and patients on the Bentley Ward by a senior member of nursing staff took place. "A senior nurse bullied fellow staff members, students who were training at Farnham Hospital and some patients as well," alleged the senior staff member. "It was verbal bullying and some students were made to cry because of it. Many of them wouldn't return to Farnham Hospital after they had completed their training because of the way they had been treated. "The investigation into it has been going on for about a year and it must have cost thousands of pounds because it involved probably about 80 to 90 staff members who had worked with the person accused, many of whom have retired since. "Despite this, the investigation found nothing because we were told that evidence went missing. Nothing has been done and a lot of staff on the wards who have been affected are upset about this and the fact that the money used for the investigation could have been used to keep the day-hospital facilities open." A PCT spokesman confirmed that an investigation into bullying has taken place. "The Guildford and Waverley PCT takes all reports of bullying very seriously, and this case, as in all cases, was thoroughly investigated and changes actioned where indicated. This was done in accordance with clear guidelines that are agreed with our staff unions and reviewed and updated regularly. We are unable to comment further on any individual cases as that would be a breach of confidentiality." Despite reassurances by health chiefs, staff morale at Farnham Hospital remains at rock- bottom and many staff members are considering leaving. "Our lives are being made miserable by what is going on," said our source. "I, and a lot of nurses, are thinking of leaving and doing another job like working in a shop."