STAFF at King Edward VII Hopsital were waiting with bated breath today (Friday) in hopes that an 11th hour buyer could be found to bring the hospital back from the brink.

As time ran out for the troubled independent hospital, provisional liquidators were expected to make an announcement about prospects for its future, or at worst, its phased closure, this afternoon.

It will come after deciding what serious interest there is in saving the Midhurst hospital and moving the plans forward.

An earlier statement, which was expected as The Herald went to press, follows crucial talks with the NHS and other health agencies over possible new contractual agreements for NHS treatment at the hospital.

Speaking to The Herald on Tuesday, Warren Epstein for liquidators BDO Stoy Hayward said there had been "lots of interest".

"In the meantime, we are pursuing all possible avenues with a view to finding a buyer for the hospital to continue as a going concern, preserving jobs and treatments and basically saving the hospital."

But warned Mr Epstein: "We don't work indefinitely without a final decision being made to try to tie up a buyer.

Mr Epstein was "optimistic" but any deal was dependent on whether final arrangements had been agreed and signed.

He said it had been business as usual since the shock announcement was made three weeks ago that the hospital was under threat of closure.

"We have been keeping all the staff closely appraised and if it were not for the newspaper coverage you wouldn't know that anything was different."

But at the beginning of this week, the 125-bed hospital, at which around 20 per cent of patients come from West Sussex, Hampshire, and Surrey, including the Haslemere area, was this week still fighting for its life.

Detailed talks on Monday with members of the NHS Strategic Health Authority and Primary Care Trusts, were described by the chief executive of King Edward VII Hospital, Lyn Way, as "very constructive".

"I think for the first time they have actually got a better understanding of the extent of the work this hospital does for many NHS Trusts," said Mrs Way, who was back in London on Thursday with the latest signatures to the 64,000-strong petition.

""Nobody has the the overall picture of our work.

"We could treat 4,000 patients during the next financial year at NHS prices."

That differs radically from previous arrangements where Mrs Way explained that the NHS had purchased treatment in "fairly small amounts".

"We are cautiously optimistic, we will know from the provisional liquidators on Friday what the decision is in terms of the hospital carrying on trading if there is interest from a potential buyer.

"We have been very busy in terms of trying to seek solutions for the hospital.

"The staff have been absolutely fantastic. Morale is good but clearly there is an underlying anxiety. The staff have continued to give the very best care for the patients are all supporting each other."

She hopes plans for the state-of-the-art cancer unit would go ahead.

"Clearly it depends on a potential purchaser with a very keen commitment to the NHS," she added.