Bristol hospital fire disruption continues

The fire broke out in Bristol Royal Infirmary's haematology and oncology centre on Thursday

Services at a Bristol cancer hospital are not expected to return to normal for several weeks following a fire.

Eight floors of the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, near Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), were affected by the blaze in the plant room on Thursday.

All wards were evacuated at about 01:00 BST and 53 patients had to be moved out in what has been declared a "major incident" by hospital bosses.

No-one was injured. The fire is believed to have started accidentally.

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A statement from the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the clinic, said it had made "good progress" towards a plan to reopen.

It said: "We are working towards giving all clinical teams access to the building towards the end of next week so that checks and infection control procedures can take place.

"We hope to have full power restored to the hospital the following week and will restart clinical services within the hospital thereafter."

The statement added that "urgent radiotherapy" would be provided to some patients this weekend and that chemotherapy would be provided at "other sites within our hospitals".

The fire in a plant room sent smoke billowing through eight floors of the building

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group said services had been "severely disrupted" as a result.

Patients are being urged not to use A&E services at the BRI unless it is a genuine emergency.

Chairman Jonathan Hayes said: "We're extremely grateful to local NHS staff who have responded magnificently to this major incident and ensured that patients continue to receive safe and effective care.

"Although the local health system is coping well following the fire, the temporary divert of emergency ambulances from the BRI is putting increased pressure on services across the wider area."