There has been a major power cut at Southampton General Hospital

The hospital has confirmed it as a ‘major incident’

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Southampton General Hospital has lost all power today. The Daily Echo has reported that patients have been evacuated and the hospital has declared it a "major incident".

A student nurse told the Soton Tab that both the generator and back-up generator is down and the whole hospital is in darkness. Ventilators are apparently not working and so patients are being manually ventilated. The Wifi is also down, and as everything is accessed online, such as "meds and vitals" no one can access them.

The student nurse filmed a video showing them walking through a pitch-black ward.

It has also been reported that firefighters in five appliances were called to the hospital shortly after 08:40am to a fire in an electrical room.

Southampton General Hospital said in a statement:

"The hospital has suffered a major power cut and has declared a major incident. All patients in Southampton General and the Princess Anne hospitals are safe. All non-urgent activity is cancelled at present."

"Please do not attend the hospital for non-urgent care such as outpatients, routine x-rays or blood tests. We are asking relatives not to visit the UHS until further notice. Staff are busy caring at present and we would further ask you not to call switchboard if possible."

"The emergency department is closed for all except urgent emergencies. We will keep you informed as the day goes on and are grateful for your support at present and apologise to those whose care is now delayed."