Two hospital wards are being shut to save money. The wards at Southlands Hospital in Shoreham care mainly for elderly patients recovering from orthopaedic operations.

Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS trust announced today it was bringing in changes which would mean the closure of 30 beds across the trust.

The changes could save the trust about £300,000 and are the first of a series of measures being brought in to help tackle a £5 million overspend.

Staff who would normally care for patients on the ward will be moved to work elsewhere at the trust's hospitals. This will mean there will be less demand for using expensive agency workers to cover vacancies, illness and holidays.

Chief executive Stephen Cass said: "We are disappointed we find ourselves in this position but we have a duty to provide the best possible care to our patients within the financial limitations placed upon us.

"Our priority has been to look at how we could change services and do things differently while maintaining standards and treating the same number of patients. The new arrangements will be monitored closely."

Changes include opening up a pre-operation admission ward which will be close to the theatres at Worthing Hospital.

In future, surgery patients will be assessed in the lounge area of the ward and not transferred to a bed until after their operation. This will free up some space at Worthing and speed up the trust's long-term plans to transfer orthopedic and elderly care beds from Southlands.

The trust is also opening a new operational centre. A manager will be appointed to work closely with staff on all wards and assess the progress of each patient through the hospital so they know exactly when one of the trust's more than 600 beds is going to become free.

The manager will also work closely with community NHS and social services to ensure that when a patient is ready to be discharged the right support and extra care they may need is ready and waiting for them.

Other plans include increasing day cases and ensuring patients get treatment in the community so they do not come to Worthing's accident and emergency department for help which they can get elsewhere.