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Ward fire leaves hospitals 'stretched to capacity'

Stephen StaffordSouth of England
University Hospital Southampton A hallway in a hospital can be seen with signs of fire damage. A fire exit sign hangs on its wire from the ceiling. Elsewhere, dirt and patches of black can be seen on the floors and walls. University Hospital Southampton
It took firefighters more than four hours to bring the blaze in the building's west wing under control

A fire at Southampton General Hospital has left hospitals that have taken on transferred patients "stretched to capacity".

An electrical blaze broke out in the endoscopy unit on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of more than 500 patients.

With 11 wards now out of action, patients have been moved to other hospitals across Hampshire, including Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital.

Basingstoke's chief nursing officer said the influx of patients had "put a lot of pressure" on NHS facilities throughout the region.

PA Media Two ambulances sit outside a hospital Accident and Emergency Department. An out of focus hospital sign can be seen in the foreground directing towards emergency departments.PA Media
Patients have been transferred to other hospitals, including Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital

No-one was injured in the fire, which broke out early on Sunday morning and was put out after four hours.

Parts of the building's west wing were gutted in the blaze.

Hundreds of patients were moved, some to non-clinical areas of the hospital, while access to the emergency department was restricted.

NHS bosses have already warned that the knock-on effects of the loss of bed space in Southampton will increase demand at other hospitals during what is one of their busiest times of the year.

Watched: Inside fire-damaged hospital ward at Southampton General

Julie Dawes, Basingstoke's chief nursing officer, said the response of staff in Southampton had been "miraculous" as they moved patients to safety when the fire broke out.

"Between the whole system, we've been working really hard trying to transfer those patients out of the hospital," she said.

"It's put a lot of pressure both on our emergency departments and our beds."

A record 600 patients attended Basingstoke's emergency department on a single day earlier this week.

But she said it was "business as usual" at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and people should attend appointments as usual.

"What we are asking for is support for the public - only attended our emergency department if it's really a urgent and critical injury or illness," she added.

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust also said it been helping after the fire and thanks its staff for their "exceptional efforts".

"To ensure our communities continued to receive safe and timely care, we rapidly opened previously unused care spaces to accommodate patients who were displaced from Southampton," a spokesperson said.

"This has enabled us to step up capacity while continuing to provide care for our own patients.

"We have also received patients into our emergency department via ambulance diversions, helping to ensure people continued to access emergency care."

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