Services resume at Royal Victoria Hospital

All services will return to normal at the Royal Victoria Hospital tomorrow, following the safe removal of the gas cylinder at the centre of a 24 hour safety alert.

The incident resulted in a 200 metre safety zone being declared around the cylinder. More than two hundred patients had to be moved to other parts of the hospital as a precautionary safety measure. All adult out patient clinics for Wednesday were cancelled.

Patient whose appointments or procedures had to be postponed today are being contacted to arrange new dates.

The hospital’s information helpline (0800 890 11 00) will continue to operate until 7pm this evening. Anyone who has any queries about their appointment should call the telephone number of their appointment card or letter.

Trust Medical Director Dr.Tony Stevens thanked staff for the way in which they had responded over the last 24 hours and for the professional manner in which they had dealt with the incident.

“The hospital has contingency plans which we rehearse to ensure that we are able to respond to emergency situations like this, but is very reassuring to know that they work, and work well in a real situation.

I am very grateful to all of our staff for their work, to patients and their families for their patience and understanding and to the members of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the building contractors for ensuring everyone’s safety throughout this incident.”

Ends:

For further information please contact:

Belfast Trust Media Office:

Telephone 9096 0096 Out of Hours: 9056 5656