Sittingbourne’s Memorial Hospital is losing its canteen used by staff and visitors.

Bosses at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) have decided to close the kitchens and restaurant after losing the contract to run the ward. Ten catering staff face the axe.

Since Virgin Care took over the ward last year patients have been fed meals ferried from Sheppey Community Hospital 10 miles away.

A consultation with affected staff was extended until March 1. The decision to close the service – which also provided food for the Frank Lloyd mental health centre on the site run by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) – was announced on March 24.

Natalie Davies, corporate services director at KCHFT, said: "After exploring every possible option, it is with regret that we have to close the kitchen at Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital on 17 June.

"When Virgin Care began delivering care for patients on the wards at the hospital last year, it decided not to use our catering services and transport food from Sheppey Hospital.

"Working with the kitchen staff, we have explored every possible option to try to keep the restaurant open for the public and to close the financial gap.

"We are very disappointed that we have been unable to find an alternative solution. Any decision that means redundancies or changes in facilities for the community is always something we do very reluctantly."

Virgin Care stopped using the Sittingbourne kitchens on Christmas Day after a three-month “transition” period.

A Virgin spokesman said: “We look after patients on one ward at Sittingbourne hospital as part of our NHS-funded community service contract covering North West Kent.

“Patients on this ward are being provided with food which is cooked daily using fresh ingredients in our kitchens at nearby Sheppey Community Hospital. We routinely seek feedback from our patients about our services and they have consistently told us they are happy with the quality and quantity of the food we’re providing.”