Mass evacuation after chemical incident at major London hospital: Firefighters rush to scene as 150 patients and medical staff told to leave
Around 150 people have been evacuated from the basement and ground floor levels of Guy's Hospital in Southwark, southeast London, by firefighters and hospital staff.
The London Fire Brigade was first called about the incident at 8.49am, with crews from Whitechapel, Dowgate, Euston and surrounding fire stations sent to the scene.
Pictured: Patients, medical staff and visitors seen on Stainer Street near London Bridge station
Two fire engines, two Fire Rescue Units, a Command Unit and specialist hazardous materials officers are in attendance.
Crews are carrying out operations to ventilate the building.
Images posted on social media show crowds of people on Stainer Street outside Guy's Hospital.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Lilly to hike UK price of Mounjaro weight-loss drug by 170%
SEATTLE, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab will raise the UK list price of its weight-loss treatment Mounjaro by up to 170%, it said on Thursday, amid a White House push to get drugmakers to raise medicine prices in Europe to allow for price cuts in the United States. The new price, which also applies to Lilly's type 2 diabetes medicine that has the same name, is effective from September. The price for a month's supply of the highest dose of the medicine will increase from £122 to £330, Lilly said. The higher price will affect those who pay for Mounjaro privately, but will not affect those prescribed the medicine through the British public healthcare system, which has a separate deal, a Lilly spokesperson said. The U.S. drugmaker said that when it launched Mounjaro in Britain it agreed to a list price "significantly below" that in its three other European markets to prevent delays in availability through Britain's National Health Service (NHS). "We are now aligning the list price more consistently," Lilly said. The move reflects how the pharmaceutical industry is navigating policy changes in the United States, by far its most lucrative market, where President Donald Trump is pushing for lower domestic prices and encouraging price hikes overseas. Last week Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told an investor call that parity between U.S. and European drug pricing was desirable in the long run, though he warned that European governments "are not signing up to pay more for drugs". The U.S. pays more for prescription drugs than any other country, often nearly three times as much as other developed nations. Trump says he wants to narrow this gap to stop Americans from being "ripped off." Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration has been talking to drugmakers about ways to level the playing field for medicine prices. A list price is set by the drug manufacturer before any rebates or discounts. Lilly said it was working with private UK healthcare providers, such as online pharmacies, who can set their own prices, to ensure continued access to the medicines. Lilly launched Mounjaro in the UK in February last year, while rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy treatment has been available in the country since September 2023.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Death of girl left alone by fake ID worker was unlawful, jury inquest concludes
The death of a teenage girl, who was left alone at a children's mental health ward by an inexperienced agency worker using fake ID, has been ruled as an unlawful killing by an inquest jury. Ruth Szymankiewicz was being treated for an eating disorder at Huntercombe Hospital in Berkshire and had been placed under strict one-to-one observation when on February 12 2022, she was left on her own by the member of staff responsible for watching her. The 14-year-old was able to shut herself in her bedroom at the hospital's psychiatric intensive care unit – also known as Thames ward – where she self-harmed. She died two days later at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. On Thursday, an inquest jury sitting at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court in Beaconsfield returned a conclusion of unlawful killing. 'Ruth was not prevented from accessing the harmful material which could be used to self-harm,' the jury foreman told the hearing. 'Ruth's care was insufficient to allow for discharge.' The foreman added Ms Szymankiewicz's parents were not given 'adequate information' about her care on the ward. Jurors could be seen crying as they recorded their conclusion, as well as the coroner and members of the family. The agency worker responsible for watching Ms Szymankiewicz – a man then known as Ebo Acheampong – had never worked in a psychiatric hospital environment before coming to Huntercombe on February 12 2022 for his first shift. A police investigation later found he was hired by the Platinum agency – which supplied staff for Huntercombe Hospital – under a false name. Mr Acheampong never returned to work at the hospital following the incident and fled the UK for Ghana. The court heard the ward was missing at least half of its staff on the day Ms Szymankiewicz, who had self harmed several times in the past, was left unsupervised. Mr Acheampong was originally working on a different ward, but was asked to join the team on Thames ward because they were so short-staffed nurses could not go on breaks, jurors were previously told. A risk management form known as a 'Datix incident' had been filed on the day by Michelle Hancey – a support worker with 18 years' experience at Huntercombe – who raised concerns the Thames ward team would 'fail to monitor patients on prescribed special observation because of staff shortage'. During the inquest, jurors were shown CCTV footage of the moment Mr Acheampong left Ms Szymankiewicz unsupervised while she sat in the ward's lounge watching TV, enabling her to leave the room. She had been placed on the 'level three observation' plan following earlier incidents of self-harm – meaning she had to be kept within eyesight at all times. In the footage, Mr Acheampong can be seen leaving the room repeatedly – at first only for seconds at a time, then for two minutes – prompting the teenager to walk up to the door and look into the lobby, seemingly waiting for the opportunity to leave the room. She was last captured on CCTV walking out of the ward's day room 'completely on her own' before going straight to her bedroom and closing the door behind her, coroner Ian Wade KC told the inquest. Around 15 minutes passed before a nurse discovered the teenage girl and raised the alarm. Huntercombe Hospital had been inspected twice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) prior to the incident, the inquest previously heard. It was rated as 'overall inadequate' in a CQC report dated February 2021. Active Care Group, which owned Huntercombe at the time of Ms Szymankiewicz's death, has since closed the facility.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
NHS Fife told to ‘progress corrective actions' urgently on single-sex spaces
NHS Fife has been told by the UK's equality watchdog to 'progress corrective actions without delay' regarding single-sex spaces after the health board admitted it failed to carry out an equality impact assessment previously. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) wrote to NHS Fife regarding access to single-sex facilities for staff on February 21, after the employment tribunal brought by nurse Sandie Peggie against the health board adjourned. Ms Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023. She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, and cited concerns about 'patient care'. Ms Peggie has lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment; harassment related to a protected belief; indirect discrimination; and victimisation, and the case has been adjourned until September. Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said NHS Fife previously admitted no equality impact assessment had been carried out and one is now expected around September 30, having been commissioned retrospectively. The EHRC recently directed NHS Fife to take 'corrective action' to ensure compliance with regulations which require public bodies to assess how policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics. On June 10, it held a meeting to reiterate that the Scottish Government has a duty to ensure public bodies comply, following the UK Supreme Court ruling in April that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. On July 23, NHS Fife 'assured the EHRC that it has taken steps in several areas, including a full review and audit of changing, toilet and locker room facilities', and it 'committed to ensuring there will be no delay in progressing all the compliance actions directed', according to the regulator. Baroness Falkner said the EHRC had 'urged NHS Fife to progress the corrective actions we directed without delay' to 'protect staff from discrimination and harassment'. Maya Forstater, chief executive of human rights charity Sex Matters, said: 'This directive to NHS Fife is an unprecedented intervention from the EHRC. 'While long overdue, this is a clear instruction to NHS Fife – and all employers – that it cannot get away with continuing to flout the Equality Act. 'There have been relentless efforts to undermine the Supreme Court judgment since it was handed down. 'This leads to women being subjected to bullying, harassment and discrimination if they stand up, as Sandie Peggie did, for their right to undress with dignity and privacy. 'The EHRC has the power to hold employers, service providers and public sector bodies to account.' The employment tribunal held further hearings in July before adjourning until September. Scottish Conservative equalities spokeswoman Tess White said: 'This damning directive from the EHRC confirms that on top of being negligent, incompetent and biased, NHS Fife broke the law in relation to the Sandie Peggie case. 'It's abundantly clear that the positions of the chief executive and senior health board colleagues are completely untenable. 'The shameful admission from the health board confirms that Sandie Peggie was hung out to dry from the very beginning, simply for standing up for her rights as a woman. Fairness and accountability must prevail. 'The First Minister must clear out those at the top of NHS Fife and finally demand that it, and all other public bodies, upholds the clear and unequivocal Supreme Court ruling entitling women to single-sex spaces.' Baroness Falkner said: 'The policies and practices of all Scottish health boards must comply with the Equality Act 2010. 'We will continue to engage with NHS Fife and monitor its progress and the outcome of the measures it has committed to taking, to ensure compliance with the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty.' NHS Fife said it welcomes continued engagement and oversight from the EHRC. It said: 'We are committed to working constructively with the EHRC to provide assurance that we fully understand, and are meeting, our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. This includes considering the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling and the EHRC's interim guidance. 'A comprehensive review and audit of our facilities has been completed, and an equality impact assessment is under way. This will be concluded and published by September 30, 2025. 'Our priority is to ensure that all NHS Fife policies and practices protect the rights of our staff and comply fully with equality legislation.'
