Critical incident at Blackpool Victoria Hospital maternity and children's unit stood down

Women due to give birth, along with new born babies and poorly children, were evacauted to other sections of the hospital after flooding caused a complete loss of power last Monday (November 7).

A Level 2 major incident was declared by the hospital trust which led to appointments including elective surgery being postponed while repairs were carried out.

Power was fully restored yesterday (Monday, November 13) and the Women’s and Children’s unit is now fully operational again.

The hospital is now faced with a backlog of appointments, but deputy boss Steve Christian says efforts are being made to reschedule these “as soon as possible”.

In a statement today, the hospital trust said: “The critical incident declared last Monday night after flooding was discovered in the Women’s and Children’s unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital has now formally been stood down.

"The building was subsequently evacuated of both patients and services whilst essential repairs were carried out. It was fully restored on Monday and is now fully operational again.”

“We still have much work to do”, says hospital boss

Steve Christian, deputy chief executive at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, added: “I am proud of how the Trust has responded to these issues, across all services and in conjunction with our partners in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System.

"It has been a true team effort that ensured patients and their families continued to receive the vital care they needed.

“Whilst the critical incident has now formally been stood down, it is clear we still have much work to do in restoring elective treatment and outpatient appointments that were unavoidably cancelled as part of our response.

"I am sorry for the disruption this has caused for local people and offer personal reassurance that we will reschedule everything possible as soon as we can.

"If you have an upcoming appointment, please attend unless you hear from us first.

“Thank you to all colleagues who have worked tirelessly to address the issues and get the Trust back up and running – as well as all patients and their families for their patience and understanding over the past week. It is much appreciated.”