Fire at Stoke hospital closes Staffordshire's only 24/7 A&E
Patients have been warned to stay away from Staffordshire's only 24-hour A&E after a fire broke out at the hospital.
A major incident has been called at Royal Stoke University Hospital after a substantial blaze in the main building of the hospital started shortly after 6pm.
Photos posted on Twitter by West Bromwich Albion's head of retail Paul Bradbury showed patients in hospital beds evacuated to the front of the hospital:
Ambulances are being diverted elsewhere and the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), which also runs Stafford's County Hospital, urged people not to use the Accident and Emergency Department.
The trust announced the major incident on Twitter at 8.02pm. Although the fire is now out and evacuated patients have returned inside, A&E patients are still being encouraged to stay away while the building is ventilated.
A spokesman for the trust said: "UHNM has declared a Major Incident at Royal Stoke University Hospital following a fire in the Main Building.
"Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene promptly and the fire at Royal Stoke has now been put out. All agencies are working together during this major incident.
"The priority is now to ventilate all the wards affected so patients can be safely returned. We would like to thank all patients, relatives and members of the public for their patience and understanding during this Major Incident."
It means residents in the Stafford area needing urgent treatment after 10pm will need to travel out of Staffordshire, with the nearest A&E departments located at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, Walsall Manor Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
Leighton Hospital in Crewe provides the nearest 24/7 emergency care for people in the north of the county.
Residents in Stafford regularly use the Stoke hospital after the A&E department at Stafford's County Hospital was downgraded from a 24 hour unit. The hospital, on Weston Road, is now only open between 8am and 10pm.
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We have a number of senior officers and managers in attendance supporting the hospital following tonight's fire.
"We are also diverting ambulances to other hospitals in the area and would urge local residents to please stay away from the hospital."
A major incident is defined as 'any occurrence that presents a serious threat to the health of the community, disruption to the NHS, or causes or is likely to cause such numbers or types of casualties'.
