Hospitals declare critical incidents amid heatwave

Two hospitals have declared critical incidents as temperatures continue to soar.

University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Southampton General Hospital, declared a critical incident on Thursday afternoon due to the ongoing extreme heat, which the trust said was "placing significant pressure on our services".

Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth remains in a critical incident following the failure of some of its chiller units on Wednesday.

It comes as a red warning for extreme heat, covering parts of Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, is in place for a second day.

Both hospitals have cancelled a number of planned appointments.

Queen Alexandra Hospital said: "Whilst the chiller units are up and running, the exceptionally hot weather has meant that cooling back down vital infrastructure is taking much longer than normal.

"Critical clinical and digital services are slowly returning but the extreme heat means this process is happening slowly.

"Patient safety remains our number one priority and so we have extended the critical incident to allow us to bring services back online in a safe and controlled way."

The trust said it has introduced temporary visitor restrictions "to support our staff on the wards and keep the environment safe and comfortable for all".

Paul Grundy, UHS chief medical officer, said the emergency department was under "substantial pressure".

"It's extremely hot in that environment, it's extremely busy and we're asking people please don't come to the emergency department unless you absolutely need to with life or limb threatening illness," he added.