'Pandemonium' at Chichester hospital as patients diverted from Queen Alexandra following 'major' water leak

A major water leak at Queen Alexandra Hospital which is thought to have left at least three wards without water meant patients had to be diverted to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester yesterday (January 7).

A nurse working on scene said 'A major diversion to our hospital has sent us into the s***.'

She revealed that Covid-19 patients from the Cosham Hospital had been transferring to Chichester 'all day' yesterday, with Chichester patients moved elsewhere.

'It's been pandemonium,' she added.

Patients at QA Hospital were asked to use 'alternative services' were possible yesterday and to only arrive at its emergency department in life-threatening cases.

After the incident, which started at 6am, all outpatients and elective procedures - excluding dialysis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and maternity appointments - were cancelled.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for QA hospital, announcing the crisis had been brought under control, said: "Early this morning (January 7) 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 are pleased to share we have now been able to stand down the major incident."

Penny Emerit, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive, said: "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. We know having an appointment or procedure delayed isn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do given the situation we were in.