Picture shows how Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth has been repaired after 'major incident' caused by 'significant' leak - latest updates
A ‘MAJOR incident’ has been stood down at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham after a ‘significant’ water leak.
All outpatient appointments were cancelled yesterday following the leak, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust announced.
However dialysis and chemotherapy appointments continued as usual, with maternity also operating as usual.
Firefighters were called to the scene.
In an update last night, the hospital said: ‘This morning (7 Jan) we declared a major incident following a significant water leak within clinical areas of the ground floor. The water supply was turned off to a significant portion of our site while the cause was identified and infrastructure challenges rectified
‘No patients or staff were harmed and we were able to relocate patients safely to other areas of the hospital.
‘Throughout the day we have been working to test the water supply and ensure the areas affected have been fully cleaned and repaired.
‘Due to the success of this work, we're pleased to share we've now been able to stand down the major incident.
‘If you are due to attend the hospital for an appointment or procedure from tomorrow (Sat 8 Jan) please attend as usual, unless you are otherwise contacted.’
Hospital CEO Penny Emerit added: ‘I would like to thank our incredible teams for their hard work in keeping all patients onsite safe and restoring all infrastructure and clinical services.
Throughout the incident, we have worked closely with our local health and social care partners, who acted quickly to offer help and support throughout, so we would like to share our thanks with them too.
‘I would also like to thank our local communities for their patience and understanding.’
Follow all the updates on the ‘major incident’ in our live blog below.