Reassurance after hospital aircon fails amid heatwave

Patients at Jersey Hospital have been reassured that emergency, urgent and maternity care can continue as normal despite the record-breaking heat causing mechanical failures with air conditioning.

Health and Care Jersey said the heat had damaged three of its seven operating theatres, which meant it would temporarily close the three theatres while essential maintenance work took place.

Medical director Simon West said air-handling units on top of some of theatres had failed and "what was thought to be a fixable solution now has proved to be a critical failure".

The hospital said a contingency plan had been enacted which would enable services to continue safely while the issue was resolved.

The hospital said there was "sufficient capacity" in the other operating theatres to maintain emergency, urgent and maternity care, and patient safety was its highest priority".

It reiterated that there was "no risk to patient safety, and services have been adjusted as a precaution".

West warned that some planned operations and procedures had to be postponed and rescheduled.

He said "the best case scenario for this work is going to be two weeks".

"We will prioritise urgent and emergency care, obstetrics and cancer surgery, but it will result in an impact of at least 20 patients a day," he said.

Jersey saw its temperature record for the hottest day in May broken three days in a row, with it reaching 34.2C (93.6F) on Tuesday.

Mr West said he wanted to "reassure Islanders that we're doing our upmost to deal with the high temperatures being experienced" amid the current heatwave, and repairs are under way.

"Unfortunately due to our ageing hospital facilities we are facing some challenges as we have to limit the amount of electrical equipment that can be safely plugged-in in some areas without creating a risk of fire or electrical overload."

He said air conditioning units and fans have been installed on wards across the hospital, with patients also offered ice and ice lollies.

The hospital said it was "very sorry" for the inconvenience caused and "every effort is being made to minimise delays".

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.