On the morning of Sunday 1 February a fire broke out in the west wing of Southampton General Hospital. Thanks to the swift response of emergency services and hospital staff, the fire was put out and patients moved to safety.
A system-wide major incident was stood up in response, allowing health and care partners to take extraordinary measures to support University Hospital Southampton (UHS).
Yesterday (Tuesday 10 February) the major incident for the system was stood down, with all partners agreeing to move into the recovery phase of the incident.
The main focus of the system recovery will be on ensuring all partners continue to work together to get people out of hospital, with the appropriate care in place, as soon as they are medically fit to leave.
James Lowell, Chief Delivery Officer at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said:
“Through the efforts of staff from across the health and care system, additional support was quickly put in place in response to the fire in Southampton. Our acute and community hospitals, Urgent Treatment Centres, GP practices, the ambulance service and local authority social care colleagues have all stepped up to support UHS.
“There was an ambulance divert from Southampton’s emergency department to other hospitals in place for a total of 31 hours and 211 patients have been evacuated since the fire, into other acute hospitals, care homes and community hospital beds.
“I would like to pay special thanks to all the teams involved for their phenomenal efforts which have got us to this position. I would also like to thank our patients and communities for their understanding and ask them to continue to use services wisely. You can help us to help you by following our public advice as we continue to recover from this incident, the effects of which will felt for many weeks to come.”
Thanks to the amazing efforts of UHS staff, the majority of outpatient appointments are still going ahead. Please continue to attend the hospital as planned unless you have been contacted directly. For the latest on the incident recovery locally in Southampton, please visit the University Hospital Southampton website.
Demand for services and bed space remains high
Southampton General Hospital is currently working with significantly fewer beds than usual while work takes place to recover and repair the damage from the fire. This means that while the system-wide major incident is stood down, services across all of Hampshire and Isle of Wight continue to be extremely busy. The incident has come at a time of the year when attendances at Emergency Departments are high and there is already great pressure on bed space.
While the recovery process continues, we urge the public to carry on helping us to help you by doing the following:
- Please only attend your local emergency department (ED) if your condition poses a risk to life or limb.
- If you’re unsure what service to use visit 111 online or call 111 for advice and the team will get you to the right help.
- Continue to use your local GP and community pharmacy services as normal.
- Think Pharmacy First for minor illness. They can also now offer prescription medicine for seven common conditions (where appropriate) without the need to see a GP.
- Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injuries Units can help with injuries and illnesses that need urgent medical attention but aren’t life threatening.
- Actively support hospital discharge plans when loved ones are ready to return home. This is so important to free up vital beds for those in urgent need of care.
- Norovirus continues to circulate - please only visit loved ones in hospital if you’re well
- For residents who use services at University Hospital Southampton, please visit the trust’s website for the latest updates on the impact on their site and services.
