Hospital flood cancelled 400 patients' surgeries
GoogleMore than 400 patients had planned surgeries postponed when a hospital's operating theatres were hit by flooding last month.
Seven out of eight theatres at the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton ended up "underwater" during heavy rain on 2 June, an NHS board meeting heard.
Efforts to get patients re-booked are continuing and four of the theatres are back in action, but the chief executive of University Hospitals Tees (UHT) group Stacey Hunter said it would be into August before full capacity returned.
She said: "It is a feature of having an old estate where there are frailties. It did mean for us that over 400 people had to have their surgery rearranged."
Hunter told the meeting on Thursday that those who had "urgent need" were accommodated as they were able to use other facilities across the group.
The hospital's crumbling buildings were previously branded "not fit for purpose", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Hunter's written report to the board said the "significant flood" also had a "material impact" on capital due to the cost of repairs and providing additional capacity to rearrange people's operations.
"Given that we have already got a very significant commitment around financial savings, that is a concern," she said.
UHT, which covers North and South Tees NHS Foundation Trusts, is preparing to cut hundreds of jobs in an effort to save £90m.
