NEWTON Abbot Hospital has been forced to close two in-patient wards after a faulty boiler caused flooding in the acute block at the hospital.
The top floor of the building was affected by water leaks overnight on Thursday last week. More serious problems occured on Friday, with major leaks affecting the two top floors of the building.
Though the ground floor was dry there was a risk of electrical faults and doubts that the water supply to the building could be maintained. 'We decided that we needed to treat the problems as a serious incident and undertake a planned evacuation of all the patient services from the ground floor area,' said Teignbridge Primary Care Trust chief executive Pam Smith.
Scratton Ward (GP medical beds) has been temporarily relocated with its own staff team to Fairweather Green Ward at Paignton Hospital, and Tudor Ward (stroke unit) has been temporarily moved with its own staff to Teignmouth Hospital.
They are to remain in their present locations until repairs are completed at the hospital, which are likely to take two or three weeks.
'Hot water is being fed back into the header tank,' explained a hospital spokesman. 'They are assessing to see if the boiler can be mended or if we need a new one.' Additional problems are caused by the asbestos in the area.
Other buildings on the Newton Abbot site are unaffected by the flooding and operating as usual. Out-patient services in the acute block are also running normally. These include the minor injury and minor illness centre, an out-of-hours treatment centre, the X-ray department and the orthopaedic and podiatry clinic.
'I would like to reiterate my thanks to everyone for their help and co- operation, with a particular mention to the staff who have had to relocate and to the patients and relatives affected by this move,' said Mrs Smith.
'As soon as we are able to give a firm date for the re-opening of the wards at Newton Abbot, we will notify everyone affected.
'This incident has reinforced the need for our new hospital here in Newton Abbot.'