Basement flood causes disruption at city hospital

Water is being pumped from the flooded basement of a Leicester hospital.

A high volume pump has been sent from Market Harborough to Leicester General Hospital to move water from the site on to nearby waste land.

The hospital has been tackling a leak to a main pipe for several days with some appointments rescheduled.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, which operates the site, said contingency plans had been put in place to ensure "minimal disruption" and apologised to any affected patients.

On Saturday, the water supply was cut off by the hospital at about 07:00 BST “as a precaution” due to a water leak the trust said was caused by a faulty valve.

The trust said water was restored by 10:30 with work to repair the leak under way.

On Sunday, an alarm alerted Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, which arrived at the Evington hospital to find “significant flooding” in its utilities subway between the boiler room and the hospital.

Water was rising rapidly, the service said, and a pump was mobilised.

Hospital estates teams and specialists from Severn Trent Water tackled the leak while firefighters brought the water level to a safe level.

But again on Monday, at about 08:15 the fire service was called with a crew from Eastern Station, a pump from the south of the county and a fire liaison officer sent to work on site.

Jon Melbourne, the trust's chief operating officer, said: “Today the water supply at Leicester General Hospital will need to be shut off to allow essential maintenance repair for a permanent fix to a faulty water valve in one of the main pipes.

"Colleagues from the trust’s estates and facilities team are hard at work with Severn Trent Water as well as Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service to remove water due to flooding following the leak. Patients, visitors and colleagues may notice continued activity on site while the essential work is carried out.

"Patient safety is our top priority and robust plans are in place to ensure minimal disruption to our services including supply of bottled water to wards and storage tanks for water supply are on site to provide water for up to 24 hours. Contingency measures for infection prevention and toilets are in place.

"Unfortunately, we had to take the difficult decision to reschedule some elective appointments scheduled for today... and we apologise to anyone affected by this."

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