Critical incident at George Elliot Hospital now stood down
It was declared after the entire maternity ward had to be closed
A critical incident in a local hospital has now been stood down.
The incident, which was at The George Elliot Hospital's maternity unit, was declared critical when the lifts malfunctioned and stopped working, rendering the entire maternity ward closed.
Now however, the lifts have been fixed and the maternity ward has re-opened
In a statement, The George Elliot Hospital said:
"We are pleased to confirm that the critical incident in the George Eliot Hospital Maternity Department has been stood down as the technical issue affecting the lifts has been resolved.
"The unit is now able to accept new admissions, with services continuing as planned.
"We thank our patients for their support during this time and apologise to those who have been impacted.
"Patient safety is always our priority, and the difficult decision to limit services over the past two days has helped to maintain this.
"Be advised that there is currently one functioning lift in the maternity building, with one undergoing refurbishment. To help ensure the lifts can be prioritised for clinical activity, patients and visitors are asked to continue to use the stairs in the department where possible, please ask for support if required.
"Thank you to our neighbouring maternity units for their support in ensuring our patients continued to get the high level of care that they need. Thank you also to the team who have resolved the issue with continued professionalism."