10,000 people have signed a petition demanding the decision to close Inverclyde Royal's intensive care unit

Senior political figures locally have joined forces to call for a u-turn - with the SNP's Chris McEleny launching an online campaign to fight the shock move.

Long-serving councillor Ciano Rebecchi has called for cross party unity in a bid to save the lifeline service.

Staff at Inverclyde Royal were told on Friday that the unit, which is part of the critical care area on ward J, would be shut that day.

Greater Glasgow Health Board later said in a statement they were making changes as part of a decision to cope with demand for specialist intensive care treatment in light of the Covid-19 outbreak - and that the decision 'would be kept under review'.

Councillor McEleny added: "We know that complex surgeries already don’t happen at IRH but the intensive care unit is vital if a routine surgery goes wrong and people need that immediate support.

“We must defend our hospital from this closure. Already thousands of people in Inverclyde have made their views clear on the issue and we are not going to go away until the health board reinstate this service at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

"It is a disgraceful decision in the midst of a global pandemic.”

Councillor Rebecchi added: "This is not the time for party politics. We must all come together and lets march if we have to. This is just one cut too many."

His Lib Dem colleague Dr Jacci Stoyle, who is standing in Inverclyde in next year's Scottish Parliament elections, said: “Friday’s sudden closure of the intensive care beds is another blow for the local community.

“Local people need to speak loudly by sending a clear message to our political leaders in Holyrood.”

The health board have said that both high dependency and coronary care would be unaffected.

West of Scotland list MSP Neil Bibby is also fighting the decision.

He said: "Nicola Sturgeon promised in the Greenock Telegraph there would be no further centralisation of services out of Inverclyde yet this is thee exact opposite of what was said.

"Covid has hit Inverclyde harder than anywhere else in the country. Local people have said to me that it’s unthinkable that Inverclyde should be losing this vital service at a time like this.

"The decision to reduce critical services at the IRH must be reversed and the obsession with centralisation must end."

In January, the Tele ran a story about the threat to Inverclyde Royal's ICU. It was the first time the Scottish Government and the health board had admitted they were considering closing it.

They cited difficulties in the sustainability of the intensive care beds because of difficulties with recruitment.

A consultants post had been vacant for four years, there were nursing vacancies and four out of eight consultants within IRH were non ICU anaesthetists without specific ICU training.

Sign the petition at our Facebook page.