A significant amount of elective surgeries and outpatient appointments were cancelled for a second day yesterday, while its emergency department remained closed for most, unless people had a ‘life or limb’-threatening injury.
‘A small number of patients from the Bailiwick attending Southampton Hospital experienced disruption due to the fire, including being evacuated to a different ward or area and having inpatient or outpatient appointments cancelled. We are working with our colleagues in Southampton to reschedule appointments that were cancelled today.
‘We continue to monitor this situation,’ said a spokesperson for Health & Social Care. ‘There have been no acute care emergencies today requiring transfer to Southampton.’
University Hospital Southampton’s chief medical officer Paul Grundy said yesterday that the endoscopy unit had been destroyed, as was the equipment within it and that damage had spread to adjacent wards, with some of most of them remaining closed.
Some areas of the general hospital’s west wing did reopen yesterday after cleaning and ventilating over the past 24 hours. Approximately 200 patients were moved to safe areas of the hospital when the fire broke out yesterday morning, and it has been reported others have been transferred to nearby hospitals.
Local charity Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation has flats across the road from the hospital, with families currently living in the flats saying they could see a vast emergency services presence throughout the day on Sunday.
‘Thankfully it’s not the part where our patients are,’ said Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation founder Jo Priaulx.
‘I did hear from one of my families, and she said that she could smell fire and that she could see about 200 people outside, she said that it went on until about 8pm.
‘Some of the older people had been moved to the children’s ward, I believe.’
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