ELDERLY patients and staff had to be evacuated from Warwick Hospital after a fire broke out in one of the wards.
The fire, on Sunday (February 16), was on Farries Ward which has beds for 22 geriatric patients.
The South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) issued a statement on its social media pages saying there was a “business continuity incident being managed at Warwick Hospital”.
The post added: “We want to assure everyone that all patients and staff are safe and well. Thank you to our dedicated staff and other local emergency services for their effective management of this incident, which has helped minimise disruption and ensure patient safety.”
Despite issuing the message to reassure that all staff and patients were safe, no more information was given about the incident and what had happened.
It was not until Monday (February 17) SWFT revealed the incident involved a fire on a ward, which firefighters had brought swiftly under control.
A spokesperson said: “On Sunday February 16, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue were contacted and responded to a fire which occurred on Farries Ward. Thanks to the swift actions of our staff, all patients were safely evacuated, emergency protocols were followed, and the fire brigade responded quickly to bring the situation under control. Most importantly, all patients and staff remained safe throughout the incident, and relatives of the evacuated patients were informed.
“While one ward remains out of use, we are urging patients to attend their scheduled appointments as usual and remind the public that our Emergency Department remains open for life-threatening emergencies.
“We would like to thank our dedicated staff and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service for their prompt response and support.”
Farries Ward is part of a two-storey ward block at Warwick Hospital. It was built back in 2011, partly in preparation for a swine flu epidemic, but is now used as general hospital wards.
It is believed the cause of the fire was due to a faulty heating system.
