UPDATED: University Hospital Southampton – also known as Southampton General Hospital – has cancelled all non-urgent activity today (Wednesday) which could well affect patients travelling from the Isle of Wight.
The hospital has suffered a major power cut and has therefore declared a major incident. It is reported that the backup generators have failed to kick in.
All patients in Southampton General and the Princess Anne hospitals are safe.
Island residents and those living in the Southampton area are being told not to attend the hospital for non-urgent care such as outpatients, routine x-rays or blood tests. Relatives are being asked not to visit the UHS until further notice and are being asked not to call the switchboard either.
The emergency department is closed for all except urgent emergencies. The Isle of Wight NHS Trust have said that patients may have to be air lifted to hospitals further afield, should the need arise for a patient to be conveyed to the mainland.
A spokesperson for University Hospital Southampton has said:
“We will keep you informed as the day goes on and are grateful for your support at present and apologise to those whose care is now delayed”.
UPDATE @ 12:35 – It is understood a fire within an electrical room plunged the hospital into darkness at around 06:30 this morning. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service mobilised 6 appliances and an aerial ladder platform to the scene and brought the incident under control.
Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke are acting as receiving hospitals for patients being diverted from Southampton.
UPDATE @ 14:18 – An update statement has been issued. It reads:
“Following the major incident declared at University Hospital Southampton earlier this morning in relation to a power cut, we have identified the cause of the problem – an electrical cable fault – which has now been temporarily resolved.
“The restrictions put in place around appointments and visiting, in addition to cancellations, remain in place for now as we carry out further maintenance but we will provide further updates throughout the day.
“We would like to thank our patients, staff and members of the public, as well as our partner organisations including neighbouring hospitals, for their support during this period of disruption.
“We wish to reassure relatives that all of our patients are safe, have been reviewed by staff and continue to receive the care they require. Our theatres and intensive care units remain open, however, we will not resume non-urgent surgery until we are confident there will be no further power issues.”
