A UK hospital has been forced to close a major department after one of its buildings was said to have “significantly deteriorated”.
The Greater Manchester hospital closed the area “immediately” after an inspection raised concerns for safety.
Manchester’s Stepping Hill Hospital has been forced to close one of its departments
The NHS trust that manages Stepping Hill Hospital confirmed it had been shut off as “there has been signification deterioration of the structure of the building”.
News of the closure of the outpatient B department came yesterday after an inspection revealed there were issues.
The hospital has now been forced to move outpatient services to another part of the site.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said: “We regularly inspect the buildings on our estate to ensure they are safe for our patients and staff.
“The most recent inspection report on November 22 showed that there has been significant deterioration in the general condition of the building, and so we immediately took steps to close it.”
The trust said the closed had not been prompted to close over RAAC – which saw a number of schools shut their doors in recent weeks.
Its statement continued: “This building does not include any Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC). We do not have any similar issues in other buildings on site, although we do have an ageing estate.
“This has been a difficult decision to take but the safety of our staff, patients and visitors is our primary concern.
“Outpatient appointments have been relocated across our hospital site, and affected patients will be redirected to their new clinic on arrival.
“We apologise to our patients for this disruption but ask that they please attend for your appointment as usual, unless they are contacted.
“We will contact patients with appointments taking place from the week commencing 27th November separately with arrangements for their clinics.”