A woman has criticised plans to close a hospital ward where she spent quality time with her partner at the end of his life.
Roy Wood spent six weeks on the Bridlington Care Unit before his death aged 92 in February 2023.
Beryl Powell, who was with Roy for 45 years, said she was saddened by the launch of a consultation on moving services to Scarborough, because having the unit locally meant they had been able to "spend the last few weeks together".
The Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said the unit was opened during the Covid-19 pandemic as a temporary means of creating capacity and its closure would mean patients would be discharged to their home or a care home sooner.
Roy was a footballer who played in goal for Leeds United in the 1950s.
Towards the end of his life, he was in Scarborough Hospital, almost 20 miles from Bridlington, and Beryl said she was only able to sit with him for an hour before eyesight issues forced her to leave to ensure she was home before dark.
Beryl said Roy's transfer to the Bridlington unit on Christmas Eve was like the "Christmas fairy" granting her wishes.
"It meant that I could go up in the morning and actually feed him," she recalled. "I could go home a bit in the afternoon and then I could go back at tea time."
It also meant friends could pop in, rather than facing a 90-minute round trip.
"It just enabled us to spend the last few weeks together more than we would have done if I'd been trekking to Scarborough," Beryl said. "I'm so sad it's closing and I don't think it's justified."
When Roy's condition deteriorated, he had to return to Scarborough for palliative care.
"We were halfway there when we got the phone call to say he'd passed away," she added.
Beryl had hoped services would be extended at Bridlington, including through a trial of palliative care.
"It's not turning out that way," she said. "In fact they're taking care away and local people are feeling more deprived, badly done to and neglected."
Unite, the union, has said the planned closure of the unit would affect 50 staff and "result in elderly patients being transferred to Scarborough, with nurses and healthcare assistants facing redundancy or transfer to York or Scarborough".
A petition calling for the unit to remain open has more than 1,200 signatures, according to Bridlington MP Charlie Dewhirst, who is campaigning against the closure.
The ICB said the unit was opened in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic as a temporary measure for patients who were ready to leave hospital who did not have a care package in place.
A spokesperson said: "We want to ensure that all patients benefit from the shortest possible stay on a ward, getting home as soon as they are fit to leave hospital with the support they need."
The ICB was working closely with East Riding of Yorkshire Council "to improve hospital discharge processes and support residents after leaving the hospital".
It was also "actively working" to increase services at Bridlington Hospital, "particularly in planned surgery".
All staff would be "offered alternative units and departments", the spokesperson added.
"Our intention is to continue to develop Bridlington to be a thriving hub for the community."