Hospital job cuts and bed closures were announced in November

Members of the Epsom and Ewell branch of Age Concern have adopted the Roseberry Ward at Epsom Hospital.

It means trained volunteers can provide a "befriending service" and help with feeding. Health campaigners said they hoped it would not lead to staff cuts.

"It's not designed to be an alternative to staffing," the NHS trust said.

The adoption of Roseberry Ward came about after Age Concern members delivered Christmas presents to patients there.

Shirley Edghill, head of patient and public involvement at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "They are in the process of recruiting volunteers to work on the ward, helping with patients and developing further links with Age Concern."

No nursing reduction

Dr John Lister, from the pressure group Health Emergency, said he could "understand why public-spirited people want to help their local hospital", but he hoped their "good intentions and goodwill" would not be used to save money.

A spokeswoman for the NHS trust said the volunteers would only help with feeding, in the same way that relatives sometimes do for other patients.

"The idea is that they [Age Concern] wanted to get involved... taking on other duties is certainly not where it's come from.

"There hasn't been any reduction in nursing staff."