Critical incident at hospital as surgery 'paused'

A problem with machinery used to sterilise surgical instruments has led to hundreds of appointments being cancelled

Hundreds of surgeries have been cancelled and a critical incident has been declared after a hospital ran short of surgical instruments.

Arrowe Park Hospital in Birkenhead, Wirral, was forced to pause elective procedures last week due to technical issues with its Sterile Services Department, which uses specialist machinery to sterilise surgical equipment.

An internal staff email seen by the BBC said the trust had bought new surgical equipment and borrowed instruments from neighbouring hospitals to ease the shortage.

A spokesperson for Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (WUTH) said "robust plans" were in place to manage the incident.

Sources told the BBC operating theatres at a new multi-million pound elective surgery hub in the Clatterbridge Hospital, also run by the trust, had been unused for days.

'Difficult decision'

The trust said it was still performing "some emergency surgery" but "where that is not possible" patients were being diverted to other hospitals.

It said staff were contacting all patients that are impacted, and urged anyone who needed to attend hospital to do so "unless told otherwise".

In the internal email sent earlier, staff were told: "Patient safety is always our top priority and we took the difficult decision to pause elective activity last week while the issue was being looked into.

"Yesterday afternoon a critical incident was declared at the Trust and we have command and control structures in place to manage this incident."

The email said the trust would also "continue to seek mutual aid from Trusts across the system".

Arrowe Park's sterilisation unit is undergoing a major revamp, according to reports ahead of a board meeting on 1 October.

A report to the trust board said the project began in March and is due to be completed in February 2026.

It said: "The project will be carried out in two phases to allow the department to remain operational with minimal disruption."

The department was due to get new machinery including disinfectors and sterilisers, a replacement "reverse osmosis plant" and upgrades to walls, ceilings and doors.

A spokesperson for the trust added: "We have robust plans in place to manage the incident and we are also seeking support from other Trusts to minimise the impact on patients at this time."