WELLINGTON Community Hospital beds will soon close for eight weeks.

Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed the hospital faces a closure for its inpatients ward- but it's not due to staffing shortages.

The hospital is currently struggling with corroding water pipes, and work needs to be done to resolve the situation.

A spokesman said: "There will be a temporary closure of Wellington Community Hospital.

"The work will take around eight weeks to complete.

"A small number of patients are currently being cared for at the hospital, but their care will be complete by the time the closure is in place.

"We will not be accepting new patients into this hospital and will instead take them in Williton."

There is currently no official start date for the works to begin, but the Trust hopes to update people next week.

The Trust stressed the closure was not due to staffing shortages which is being experienced elsewhere in the county.

Inpatient beds are still closed in Chard, Shepton Mallet and Dene Barton in Cotford St Luke.

The ward at Shepton Mallet Community Hospital is set to reopen next month.

The beds were temporarily closed in autumn 2017 due to a shortage of staff.

The staffing position at Dene Barton means it is 'not practical' or safe to re-open the ward for the 'immediately foreseeable future'.

Somerset Partnership is to work with the hospital staff and League of Friends at Dene Barton to consider options for better use of the hospital while the ward remains temporarily closed. There are also no immediate plans for the trust to reopen Chard Community Hospital beds.