At least three hospitals declare critical incidents as services grapple with record-breaking heatwave
At least three hospitals declared critical incidents amid a rare red alert for extreme heat and unprecedented June temperatures.
Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announced critical cases on Wednesday.
Southampton University Hospital followed suit on Thursday afternoon, citing “significant pressure on our services” caused by the ongoing heatwave.
This comes as the UK experienced the hottest June day in its history for the second day in a row.
The Met Office provisionally confirmed temperatures reached 36.4C in Yeovilton, Somerset, on Thursday afternoon, marking a new high for the month.
The new high surpasses the previous record set on Wednesday, when the temperature reached 36.1 degrees in Gosport, Hampshire, and the long-standing record for June heat dating back to the infamous summer of 1976.
Critical incidents can be declared when health and care services are so busy that special measures must be taken to restore normal functioning and keep patients safe.
Queen Alexandra Hospital said it declared the critical incident following the “failure of several cooling units supporting critical infrastructure during the ongoing heatwave”.
It added that some planned maintenance and appointments have been suspended until the problems are resolved.
In an update on Thursday, the trust said exceptionally warm weather while cooling units were operational meant it was taking much longer than usual to cool vital infrastructure.
The foundation said it was expanding the critical incident to allow it to “bring services back online in a safe and controlled manner.”
It was also stated that some planned maintenance and appointments will continue to be postponed until temperatures stabilize.
Michelle Stanley, acting chief executive of University of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Our teams have worked hard to correct the initial problem and our coolers are now back and working.
“However, extreme heat means the process of cooling essential infrastructure is taking longer than expected.
“With temperatures still high, we are trying to bring back services in a controlled manner to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.
“We would like to thank all our partners in the region who came to help during the incident, their support was greatly appreciated.”
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH) said the cooling systems on MRI scanners failed and the critical incident was declared.
A mobile unit was received on Thursday and the trust said it was “working to reassign all 362 previously cancelled outpatients”.
NNUH chief operating officer Chris Cobb said: “Due to the hot and humid weather, the cooling systems of our MRI scanners in the hospital building and Community Diagnostic Center failed and a critical incident was declared yesterday.
“We have worked tirelessly over the last 24 hours to get some browsers back up and running.
“We received a mobile unit this morning and now have scanners working across the trust, including the Community Diagnostic Center where we prioritize inpatients and patients on the two-week waiting list with suspected cancer.
“We are working to reassign all 362 previously canceled outpatients, who will be prioritized in order of urgency. Our emergency department and those requiring urgent care will not be affected.”
“We are trying to contact all affected patients and would like to apologize to everyone affected by this incident.
“We recognize the distress this has caused and will endeavor to get everyone rebooked as soon as possible.
“If you have not been contacted by the hospital, please attend your appointment as usual.”
Southampton University Hospital said it had to cancel some planned operations as well as some outpatient appointments.
A statement from the hospital said: “Our priority is patient safety and the well-being of our staff and we ask for the public’s support during this time.”
