Bradford MPs are opposing ward closures and what they call "a slash and burn policy" at two city hospitals.

Their concern follows the announcements that the wards for women and the elderly at Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital will close, as reported by the Telegraph & Argus last week.

Around 39 staff will be affected by the latest closures which are part of health bosses' plan to tackle a projected £11.3 million deficit at the hospitals.

Bradford West MP Marsha Singh, whose constituency covers both hospitals, told a meeting of anxious hospital staff that he "deplored" the cuts.

A 14-strong delegation from Ward 25 at BRI met Mr Singh and Bradford North MP Terry Rooney in City Hall to underscore their fears about NHS services being undermined in the city.

The group claimed the cuts would have a devastating impact on patient care and said staff morale had plunged to an all-time low since the announcement.

A spokesman for the group, who did not wish to be identified, told the T&A: "The staff at BRI are very unhappy indeed with the closure. Patient care is going to suffer.

"It's a backward step. It came as a complete shock. We didn't know anything until a few days ago when we were summoned to a meeting to be told what the situation was.

"Patients are fed up. The ones we've spoken to say it's disgraceful."

Mr Singh said he, Mr Rooney, Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe and Shipley MP Chris Leslie would meet on Wednesday to discuss how the closures might be opposed.

"I deplore the cuts at BRI and St Luke's and the effect that will have on the patients and the morale of staff," Mr Singh told those at the meeting. "You have my full support to save patient services and I'm sure other MPs will be very active. We were given assurances that the recovery plan did not need to be a slash and burn policy and could be done over time."

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foun-dation Trust, which runs the two hospitals and is facing a year-end deficit of £11.3 million, has already closed two blocks of wards and operating theatres at St Luke's.

Last week, speaking about the latest decision to close two more wards, a trust spokesman said: "We have brought forward our plans to improve patient care by centralising more services at BRI.

"It benefits patients by bringing them closer to key support services. It is important to stress that while these changes will help the trust to operate more efficiently, patient care remains our top priority."