uknip247 
Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth declared a major incident this morning and temporarily closed its Accident & Emergency (A&E) department to new admissions following a ‘serious loss of power’.
The loss of power was reported shortly after 7 am, prompting the hospital to advise patients to avoid A&E. However, the hospital has since confirmed that power has been restored and the emergency department has reopened to new admissions.
Power Restored and Incident Downgraded
A spokesperson for the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust said: “Due to this, we have made the decision to step down from major incident to an internal critical incident. Work to identify and investigate the cause behind this morning’s outage continues.
The spokesperson added, “Many of our IT systems are now back up and running, so if you have an outpatient appointment, please continue to attend as usual unless you have heard from us directly. We have had to cancel a small number of procedures this morning, but our teams are working hard to safely continue carrying as many of these out as possible. We expect to see some delays as services are coming back online, so we ask for your patience and understanding while our teams work to do this.”
Impact on Services
The hospital’s phone lines are still experiencing issues, and card readers in the car parks are not functioning, leading to a suspension of payment for today. Despite these issues, visitors are welcome to attend the hospital as normal.
During the major incident, the hospital advised patients with serious medical conditions to contact NHS 111 or 999 and not to attend the Queen Alexandra Hospital Emergency Department. The spokesperson for the NHS Trust had previously stated: “The hospital is safe, and our staff are working hard to continue providing care for patients already with us, but we have made the decision to close to new attendances to our Emergency Department. Phone lines and switchboard are also affected, so you will not be able to call into or receive calls from the hospital at this time.”
Current Status
The hospital has now returned to normal operations, with most services back online. The NHS Trust spokesperson reassured the public: “We expect some services will be affected today and there may be some cancellations, but please continue to attend unless you have been contacted or updated through us directly or our website/social media.”
Looking Forward
As investigations into the power outage continue, the hospital is focused on ensuring all systems are fully functional and that patient care remains a top priority. Further updates will be provided as necessary.
