A MAJOR hospital in Kent has declared a critical incident amid a week long battle without running water.
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said it would like to “sincerely apologise” to patients, visitors and staff who had experienced the “ongoing water supply issue” affecting the hospital.
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Problems with the water supply in the west block of Darent Valley Hospital, began on 28 April Credit: Cover Images
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has issued an alert online Credit: nc
Problems with the water supply in the west block of Darent Valley Hospital, in Dartford, began on 28 April, the trust added.
The issue “could compromise water quality”, making it potentially unsafe to drink or wash in.
As a precaution patients, staff and visitors have been urged not drink water from taps or use it for washing in the affected areas.
The trust said the supply had been isolated and repairs carried out but detailed test results were not expected until the end of the week.
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Until then, some areas of the hospital will continue to have restrictions on tap water use.
They did not confirm the exact cause of the outage.
Instead, in an alert to patients published online, they said the affected areas had been signposted, telling people not to use the water, but toilets were fully operational.
Water in the rest of the hospital, including surgical services, intensive care and most outpatient areas, remained “safe, unaffected and available” to use.
It is believed that an internal fault is to blame for the problem which is affecting the west block of the hospital.
A hospital spokesperson added: “We understand the frustration and inconvenience this is causing.
“Please be assured that we are treating this with the utmost seriousness and will return the affected areas to normal use once all required assurance checks have been completed.
“The hospital remains open and fully operational.”
