Generators power operations amid hospital power cut

Avon Fire and Rescue Service said there were 10 appliances on the scene

The Bristol Royal Infirmary has been evacuated and a critical incident declared after a power cut and a fire.

One patient said it went "pitch black" inside before the hospital was evacuated at about 14:30 BST. Some operations were safely completed during the cut using the hospital's emergency generators, while later ones were delayed.

The adult accident and emergency department was re-opened to urgent walk-in patients shortly after 21:00 BST.

A hospital spokesperson said: "All patients, visitors and colleagues are safe."

The adult accident and emergency department was re-opened to urgent walk-in patients shortly after 21:00 BST

Generators are being used to power the intensive care unit but the high-dependency area, the adult emergency department and the Queen's building are still without power.

"There was a power cut and it went pitch black," one patient told the BBC.

"Then they said we all had to evacuate from the building."

Another patient said there were "flickering lights" on their ward before they were told to leave.

He said he had been standing outside the hospital for three hours.

Emergency generators are being used by the hospital

Dr Rebecca Maxwell, Interim chief medical officer at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) said: “We have declared a critical incident due to a power outage.

"We have a business continuity plan and generators kicked in and they are powering our machines and helping our patients. We are also bringing in some emergency generators onto site to support that.

"We aim to have this fully resolved as soon as possible."

The neighbouring children's hospital is said to be unaffected, as is the oncology department.

Multiple fire crews were sent to the scene

Staff at the hospital took to X, formerly Twitter, to urge the public not to attend the hospital until the incident was resolved.

Dr Maxwell told the BBC that operations were happening at the time of the power outage, but they were able to safely conclude before surgery was then paused, adding emergency cases have been dealt with on site or diverted to other hospitals.

Bristol University, which is close to the BRI, reported it also experienced a power outage which caused IT issues across multiple locations on their campus.

Several road closures were initially put in place

A spokesperson from Avon and Somerset Police said: "Officers were at the scene of a suspected electrical fault at Bristol Royal Infirmary today.

"Upper Maudlin Street [outside the hospital] has now been reopened and officers have left the scene."