By Gabriel Princewill-
Southend Hospital has been using boiling water in kettles to help patients have a bath after they ran out of hot water.
Nurses on Paglesham and Benfleet wards, both specialist stroke wards, have been filling jugs from the kitchens for patients to wash.
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Representatives from the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust said the situation is likely to last another week, adding that the issue will be resolved as quickly as possible, and a plan is in place to minimise impact on patients.
The situation has led to delays in the usual duration for shoers at the hospital.
Limited hospital resources are believed to have been drawn to deploy staff to sustain the adjustments necessary to accomodate the sudden emergency at the hospital.
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Chris Howlett, senior director of estates and facilities at Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, said: “We recently installed a new hot water system and there are some water pressure issues affecting two wards.
“Estates staff are working to fix this issue as quickly as possible and our business continuity plan is helping minimise the impact on patient care.”
It is unclear precisely what the impact on patient care is, but it suffices to say that it is not as convenient as the customary practise of having access to hot water.
The news comes after it was revealed that 150 members of staff are to be made redundant at the hospital .
Unison said the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust plan to cut “non-frontline clinical” posts across its hospitals in Southend-on-Sea, Basildon and Chelmsford.
Earlier in the year, the trust revealed that an £8.7million Radiotherapy Unit extension and equipment to help combat cancer was being established , enlarging the waiting room and two dedicated side rooms where patients can discuss their treatment with their medical team.
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