While in some cases it may appear that units are being closed for financial reasons, it's also important to consider that if it's impossible to safely staff a unit (due to inability to recruit sufficient physicians or nurses to work in that area), this leads to significant safety issues for that unit. Keeping a unit open when not sufficiently staffed does potentially even more harm to the patients and the community that it serves. These concerns may be at the root of these closures, although the community may interpret these to be purely financially motivated.
While in some cases it may appear that units are being closed for financial reasons, it's also important to consider that if it's impossible to safely staff a unit (due to inability to recruit sufficient physicians or nurses to work in that area), this leads to significant safety issues for that unit. Keeping a unit open when not sufficiently staffed does potentially even more harm to the patients and the community that it serves. These concerns may be at the root of these closures, although the community may interpret these to be purely financially motivated.