Hospital 'close to collapse' during heatwave

A hospital was brought "very close to collapse" by the heatwave in June, a senior doctor has said.

The pressures at Southampton General Hospital were "in many ways almost worse than Covid", the city's Health and Well-being Board heard.

The hospital's deputy chief medical officer, David Higgs, told the meeting the emergency department was overrun, while other patients could not be discharged.

"The front door was wedged open and the back door was wedged closed. We couldn't do anything," he said.

On 25 June, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust declared a critical incident due to the heat and cancelled some operations and appointments.

In an update on 29 June, it said its hospitals were full, with 12-hour waits for patients.

The incident was declared over on 1 July.

Higgs told the board: "There was a huge amount of attendances in our emergency department.

"Primary care was overflooded. The ambulance service pretty much collapsed."

The decision of many schools to close was an issue for hospital staff with children, he added.

"When that [school closures] first came out, we were thinking, well, this is it. We are in terrible trouble," he told the meeting.

"We do need to have some allowance for key workers and their children being in school.

"I know it was resolved, but it's needed at the beginning of the process."

Kay Reeve, Southampton City Council director of adult social care, said: "We don't currently have that function of supporting children whose parents or carers are key workers.

"We had that during the pandemic, of course, but that was a particular set of arrangements."

Higgs also praised the generosity of businesses who supported the hospital during the heatwave.

Supermarket chain Costco donated drinks, snacks and a freezer, the NHS trust previously said.

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