Latest news with #maternityWard
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Maternity hospital evacuated after solar panel fire
Pregnant women were evacuated from a hospital in Bristol after a solar panel fire broke out. Large plumes of black smoke were seen emerging from St Michael's Hospital, near the city centre. The maternity ward at the hospital has reportedly been evacuated, with pregnant mothers and babies being led across the road to another building. The cause of the fire, which has now been extinguished, is currently unknown. Footage shared on social media showed women cradling babies being escorted past fire engines and under police tape to safety. Jess Hutchinson, 22, whose waters have broken, told the BBC it was 'scary' hearing the fire start on the roof. Matt Burden, from Weston-super-Mare, was inside the maternity unit when the fire started. He told the BBC that his wife was in labour with their third baby and he was 'really eager to get back' to her. He said: 'I went out to get some food, came back and obviously the alarm went off. They said all partners had to leave. Everyone was going down the fire exit quite fast. A BBC forecaster shared a still image from a skycam located a short distance away, which showed the scorched remains of the hospital's rooftop solar panels. Ian Fergusson said there was 'virtually nothing left of the rooftop solar panel array after this fire'. He added: 'A very worrying and scary event for folks at the maternity hospital.' Some patients have reportedly been taken to the Bristol University Life Sciences building. In a statement, a spokesman for Avon Fire and Rescue Service said: 'We're currently responding to a fire on Southwell Street, Bristol. 'We encourage people to avoid the area while we deal with the incident. 'We can confirm that the fire has safely been extinguished. 'The cause of the fire will be investigated.' Avon and Somerset Police said the fire had been reported at around 4.30pm. A spokesman said: 'St Michael's Hill is closed to vehicles and pedestrians and people are urged to avoid the area if at all possible.' A University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: 'We're responding to an incident at St Michael's Hospital, we will provide a further update shortly.'
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
How is the James Paget hospital coping with crumbling concrete?
How a hospital is coping with crumbling concrete Just now Share Save Alex Dunlop BBC News, Norfolk Reporting from Gorleston-on-Sea Mariam Issimdar BBC News, Norfolk Share Save Qays Najm/BBC Timber beams are being used to reinforce the Raac panels to make them safe At the James Paget hospital on the Norfolk coast, supports are stopping 8,300 panels of concrete in its ceilings and walls from collapsing. Staff will eventually work in a brand new building, but how are they coping as repairs to make the current site safe continue around them? The challenges facing the estates team at James Paget hospital are not unique. It is one of a number of English hospitals built using a cheaper type of concrete that is now at the end of its lifespan. Disintegrating Raac, or Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac), is affecting several areas of the hospital including its maternity ward, which has had to close for about six months while the panels are reinforced. The unit will not reopen before the end of August, but in the meantime maternity services have been relocated to the first floor close to theatres and the neonatal unit. Elsewhere, ceilings in 11 out of 14 operating theatres are also being strengthened, with the work being carried out on two theatres at a time. Engineers were so concerned about Raac panels in the hospital kitchen it was made to shut for more than a year, with meals brought in. Qays Najm/BBC Work to reinforce 8,300 ceiling panels made from Raac is being undertaken at the James Paget hospital in Norfolk Qays Najm/BBC Raac panel ceilings at the Gorleston hospital have been disintegrating for several years Stephen Balls, deputy director of estates and facilities, says without the beam supports there is "a real danger" of ceilings falling in. "It's a mammoth task," he says. He speaks from maternity ward 11, where his team has been working for the past few months. "We usually take an 18-week period for our Raac panel mitigation work," he says. "However, we have also taken the opportunity to upgrade our triage area at the same time." Qays Najm/BBC Stephen Balls, who has been in charge of the remedial work, described the work as "a mammoth task" Raac was developed in the 1960s and used in many public buildings, including hospitals, schools and leisure centres, until the 1990s. It is much cheaper and lighter but weaker than reinforced concrete, and over time it deteriorates. Lengthy exposure to water can also make it crumble. The material was only designed to last about 30 years. The James Paget in Gorleston-on-Sea, which serves patients in east Norfolk and north-east Suffolk, is now 43 years old. The majority of the Raac panels at the Paget, some 75% to 80%, are in the ceiling, with the rest in walls. Matt Knight/BBC Problems with Raac do not make themselves apparent until the material breaks, say experts So far, 60% of the work on Raac affected areas has been completed and the total cost of this remedial effort will be about £34m. Mark Flynn, director of strategic projects at the hospital, says the work so far is "going really well", with most of the reinforcement work in non-clinical areas having been done. He says staff and NHS England have provided great support to ensure the hospital remains open and the impact on patient services stays minimal. "I am pleased to say that we are in a position to maintain patient services, for patients and staff," says Mr Flynn. "About 86% of our site is constructed with Raac, and obviously we are continuing to work to maintain safety, and we make sure all of the works are done to a really high standard." Qays Najm/BBC A new kitchen was built after suspect concrete in the ceiling was made safe Ali Guenaoui, catering operations manager, says the whole kitchen ceiling has been made of Raac, causing "a huge, huge, problem". The area has been reopened after the panels' lifespan was extended. Mr Guenaoui says: "It's been challenging, very, because with a big project like that it wasn't going to just be overnight, but I think the team have done a fantastic job. "We had to find a different way of providing food - food coming in and heating it up, which is not our normal style. "We've waited a long time but now we have so many benefits. It was a custom designed kitchen - we told them how we wanted it and they came and did it." Qays Najm/BBC Catering manager, Ali Guenaoui, is delighted with the "beautiful" kitchen that has been built The repairs to the hospital should be done by 2028, according to Mark Flynn, director of strategic projects. By then, work on a new hospital will be under way on a site to the west of the current hospital complex. Qays Najm/BBC Wards and corridors have been stripped out ready for repairs The new hospital, which has a budget of £1.5bn, will also have room to expand as it will be double the footprint of the existing site and have about 600 beds for patients. Funding for the new site has come from the government's New Hospital Programme, while the Raac repairs have been met through separate funding from NHS England. "We're really pleased to have now secured the land for this new hospital," Mr Flynn says. Qays Najm/BBC Mark Flynn says reinforcements to the hospital's ceilings and walls is progressing well "We will have a completely separate construction site for the new hospital, so we hope to minimise the impact as much as possible... during what's going to be a long build period." Once the new site is built, in about a decade's time, the existing hospital site will be demolished. Mr Flynn says: "It's great that we are part of the National Hospital Programme and really fantastic that we've secured the land. "I feel ecstatic, it's brilliant." Perkins & Will/James Paget An artist's impression of what the new hospital could look like Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
