Hospital to shut children's wards

Two children's wards are to close at a hospital in the Black Country.

Up to 13 beds will be lost at Walsall Manor Hospital, leaving 27 before the unit relocates to a new £170m hospital.

A spokesman for the hospital said the move comes after a lengthy review of patient numbers and wards not reaching capacity.

One of the wards will be used for rehabilitation and beds on the second ward can be used for children, should the need arise, they added.

The new hospital is to open on the current site in 2010 and paediatrics is one of the first department to relocate.

In June, it was announced that 80 people will lose their jobs at the hospital by the end of the year.