Sewage nightmare forced GP surgery closure - staff

A GP surgery in West Sussex was forced to close for three weeks after raw sewage began "pumping" into its car park, staff have revealed.

Silverdale Surgery in Burgess Hill closed for three weeks in December after the sewage entered its car park due to debris in a pipe.

Staff said they had to reschedule about 500 appointments each week to its other surgery, The Avenue, also in the town.

Southern Water said it had unblocked three manholes, cleared the debris, and was "now looking at a way to redirect the sewer rather than dig it up".

Silverdale Surgery deputy practice manager Michelle Pope told BBC Radio Sussex: "To have raw sewage pumping out into your car park isn't what you expect to come to work to.

"It's everybody's worst nightmare. We deal with very sick and vulnerable people and had to put a plan into action."

Staff at the surgery, in Silverdale Road, said the pipe was blocked with 13 metres of concrete.

They also said there was an incident in late November where sewage entered the surgery kitchen, before the car park incident which forced the closure on 13 December.

Southern Water tankers were attending daily to stop sewage from spilling out, with one damaging the pavement when it mounted the kerb, staff said.

The surgery said it was still having limited appointments at the Silverdale site.

Jess Yaxley, practice manager, said: "We couldn't keep the site open. It would have been dangerous. We had to make that decision for the safety of our staff and patients."

A spokesperson for Southern Water said its teams unblocked three manholes, removing debris at the beginning of November 2024.

The sewer had also been filled with concrete, which has now now cleared, they said.

They added: "We are looking at a way to redirect the sewer rather than dig it up with our sewer lining team, where work is scheduled to start this month.

"We have arranged to repair the pavement from our tanker work and are investigating how the concrete entered the sewer."