Croydon’s largest A&E department is currently shut after a fire this afternoon. Croydon University Hospital confirmed on Twitter that the blaze had broken out in the A&E building on the afternoon of March 5.
Nobody had been injured in the fire, and the hospital advised anyone requiring medical attention should call 111.
“Our A&E is currently closed due to an earlier fire. We are happy to confirm that all of our patients & staff are safe & we will reopen soon thanks to the fast work of @LondonFire, but until then if you need urgent or emergency care, please contact #NHS111”, the hospital trust tweeted.
In a statement on the Croydon University Hospital website, the trust said: “Our staff and the London Fire Brigade responded quickly to the alarm, which was raised at 14:58. A total of 80 patients were safely evacuated from the Emergency Department to continue their care in other parts of the hospital, and we have discharged those patients who are well enough to go home.
“Whilst we work to assess and repair the damage, we would urge anyone in our local community who needs urgent and emergency care to contact NHS 111 for advice and to be directed to the nearest services available to them.”
MyLondon reported that the London Fire Brigade said that one room on the ground floor was “one hundred percent destroyed” in the fire.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently visited the hospital and was met with criticism from one patient.
Speaking to a female patient at the hospital, he was told: “It’s a pit you don’t pay them more”. According to the Guardian, 77-year-old Catherine Poole told Mr Sunak to “look after” the NHS.
The PM asked Ms Poole if staff we treating her “really nicely”, to which the patient responded: “They always do. It is a pity you don’t pay them more.”
Mr Sunak told her the Government was trying, however she raised her finger and said: “No you are not trying, you need to try harder.”
*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
