21 May 2013
Flooding at a hospital closed its accident and emergency ward for seven hours, it has been reported.
Water leaked from a drain during maintenance work on an air conditioning unit at Royal Sussex County Hospital, according to Brighton & Hove’s Argus newspaper.
The flooding closed the section of A&E in which the most seriously ill patients are cared for.
East Sussex firefighters who specialise in dangerous materials attended the hospital to check that the chemical found inside the air conditioning unit did not pose a threat. They said the risk of harm was zero.
Around a dozen people needing emergency treatment had to be taken instead to hospitals in Haywards Heath, Worthing and Eastbourne.
Southampton General Hospital was also put on standby to treat any seriously injured people.
Water was pumped out of Royal Sussex’s A&E by fire crews from Hove and Preston Circus. Other relief crews were also sent to help deal with the incident.
Copyright Press Association 2013