A&E is fully open and operations will go ahead following fire at Grantham Hospital

The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said A&E was fully open by 5pm today as power was being “restored to some areas”.

Dr Suneil Kapadia, medical director of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Following the fire at Grantham Hospital on Tuesday power is being restored to some areas. This means that all elective operations and outpatient clinics will go ahead as planned tomorrow (Friday 22 April).

“A&E will be fully open from 5pm today (Thursday 21 April) with power restored to key services such as diagnostics.

“I’d like to say thank you to all ULHT staff for their hard work in ensuring high quality patient care has been maintained and to the public for their patience and understanding.”

On Wednesday, 13 operations had to be postponed and another 12 were postponed yesterday.

The fire broke out after a small flood in the basement at 6.20pm on Tuesday. The fire started in an electrical switch system which cut power to several wards. The intensive care unit, the coronary care unit, emergency assessment unit and the hospice had to be closed and 30 patients were moved to other parts of the hospital.

Phone lines and computer systems were hit by the power loss.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said four crews dealt with the fire. Two crews from Grantham, one from Corby Glen and one from Brant Broughton attended.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera to locate the fire in an electrical switch system. Crews used fans to remove smoke from the hospital and helped to move patients to other areas of the 
building.