29 patients remain on site to receive treatment following ‘medium to small’ fire
He said many medical services, including oncology, which was relocated during the pandemic, are continuing to be provided as normal at the nearby Ely Hospital.
Ms O’Leary said that she was “very hopeful that we can resume outpatient appointments on Monday but beyond that it’s not just about beds and we are waiting for those technical assessments with regard to what the critical services [electricity and oxygen supply] will be available to us. They will allow us to make an informed and safe decision about services for next week.”
Earlier, a senior officer with Wexford fire services said that the damage to the hospital building is “medium to small”. The fire was “not large” and had been confined to a small area in a plant room on the roof of the building. Mr McCallion acknowledged that there were challenges that came with the transfer of patients such as the transfer of their medical records. A technical assessment will underpin the next actions, he said. “Key areas in this instance will be areas like oxygen supplies and electrical safety. Those are some of the key elements given where part of the fire occurred. So it’s too early to say where and what time frame that will happen.
Wexford TD Verona Murphy praised the emergency services and hospital staff and management for the manner in which they handled the fire and subsequent evacuation. “It was a mammoth task,” she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland. “And whilst it was chaotic, it was organised efficiently. “It just couldn’t have run more smoothly. And I’m sure there were things that we don’t know about, but for the most part it was about the preservation of life. And that was maintained.
Former Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin has warned that any move to delay the building of a new 96 bed unit at Wexford General hospital as a result of the fire on Wednesday would be “a tragic mistake.” Mr Howlin, who is a TD for Wexford, told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that he was concerned that the fire might be used as an excuse to delay the new unit.
Ray Murphy told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that the fire occurred in a section over a central hub that included maternity and paediatric wards, as well as the intensive care unit. The plant room contained the heating system, ventilation, air conditioning along with flammable material, all of which would have been “very, very safe” when operating under normal conditions, he said.
Mr McCallion paid tribute to staff for their response to the crisis, evacuating and supporting patients. “Some staff remain in the hospital. Other staff transferred with patients and we’ll assess that over the coming days,” he said. Cllr Lawlor said it had been a distressing time for staff, one of whom was his daughter, a nurse, whom he understood accompanied a patient who was transferred from Wexford to Navan hospital.
“Obviously community services are being looked at through nursing home capacity, private hospital capacity may have to be used as well. It’s a massive undertaking to evacuate that level of patients and obviously credit has to go to all of those who are involved in that,” he told RTÉ Radio.
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