Plans by Peamount Hospital in Dublin to phase out the provision of services to TB patients over the next few years have led to concern among staff that they may lose their jobs.
Yesterday a member of staff issued a press release stating the hospital was going to close.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said later the statement was "unauthorised and misleading".
The spokeswoman said the hospital was undergoing a review and was looking at extending its rehabilitation services and possibly phasing out the treatment of patients with respiratory conditions such as TB by 2008.
Yesterday the Irish Nurses Organisation urged the hospital's management team to reconsider the decision, saying it would increase pressure on the A&E departments of other acute hospitals in the eastern region.
INO industrial relations officer Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said its members at the hospital were very concerned about the move. "INO members at Peamount Hospital are appealing to management to reconsider this decision as they believe the hospital can move ahead with its strategy to expand their rehabilitation services while maintaining the current level of service to patients with TB and other respiratory illnesses," she said.
The hospital's spokeswoman said the TB unit had 60 beds but at any one time was occupied by only a "handful" of patients.
She emphasised that there would be no redundancies when the unit closes. Staff will be redeployed to the areas which are expanding, she said.