London floods: Hospital evacuates patients and cancels planned surgery, as more storms on way

Whipps Cross hospital in east of capital hit by power outage as fire brigade receive 1,000 calls to flooding incidents

A London hospital evacuated around 100 patients and cancelled all planned surgeries and outpatient appointments after it was hit by flooding.

Heavy rainfall yesterday flooded he basement of Whipps Cross hospital in Leytonstone, east London, damaging the hospital’s electrical system and causing a power outage.

Staff have since moved 100 inpatients from affected wards to other hospitals, according to Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital and others in the area.

Ambulances are also being diverted to other hospital emergency departments to relieve pressure on Whipps Cross.

The A&E remains open for walk-ins but patients who need urgent treatment are being asked to attend other hospitals where possible.

London Fire Brigade is supporting the trust today to remove flood water and protect patients.

Control officers for the fire brigade took over 1,000 calls to flooding incidents yesterday, after heavy downpours flooded homes and roads.

In incidents in Worcester Park, South Woodford, Leytonstone and Stratford, they rescued people trapped in cars, responded to basement flooding and assisted people from their homes.

Firefighters rescued three adults and two children who became trapped after their car was stuck in one metre of water in Worcester Park.

They also used specialist water rescue equipment to assist partners at major flooding at Charlie Brown’s roundabout in South Woodford.

Newham Hospital, meanwhile, has reopened to people needing emergency care.

Yesterday, Barts Health NHS trust declared a major incident, after torrential rain caused the emergency department at the hospital to flood.

A tweet asked patients to “attend a neighbouring hospital if possible”.

A spokesperson for Barts Health NHS Trust said: “We are continuing to experience operational issues at Whipps Cross Hospital due to the heavy rainfall yesterday. We cancelled all planned surgery and outpatient appointments for today, and are diverting ambulances while we work hard to clean up affected areas of the hospital. We are keeping the situation under constant review and will post updates about services as necessary.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson advised people to avoid walking or driving through flood water, to stay alert to flood warnings and to prepare for flooding by assembling a flood kit and using sandbags.

Intense rainfall created chaos across London yesterday, with eight tube stations closed and countless motorists stranded by floodwater as drainage systems were overwhelmed.

This weekend’s floods follow high temperatures felt across the UK.

England saw a high of 32C during the hottest day of the year so far on Tuesday 20 July, and Northern Ireland had its hottest day since records began, when the mercury hit 31.4C.

However, more thunderstorms are expected to hit the UK later this week, and the Met Office has issued yellow warnings for thunderstorms and rain in England and Scotland until Thursday.