LGH A&E flooded!!

Mint Sauce

Just seen this on one of the FB pages. Photo is of the corridor outside the old A&E (behind the photographer) under water, just outside the old Med 1 & 2.

<SNIP>

Is the Cardiac Ward still along there?

Picture of the new A&E on a website we wont mention, and full story there. Unfortunatly wont let me link the picture.

Hope everyone has been transfered and cared for safely, the front line staff there are under enough pressure with out this.

:eek:

Edit.

PM me if you want link.


Mod edit: Sorry Mint Sauce but the pic was marked "copyright" so I have to remove it. Anyone interested can PM you for the link to it

muffler

Letterkenny must have got a hell of a hammering today...weather wise that is!

Mint Sauce

Full Story in the Journal.

LETTERKENNY GENERAL HOSPITAL has been partially evacuated this evening after its ground floor was “completely destroyed” from flooding caused by heavy rain earlier today.

A spokesperson for the hospital in Co Donegal has told TheJournal.ie this evening that all ground floors in the three block hospital have been damaged after extensive flooding.

A crisis management plan is now in operation but the hospital does not expect to be in a position to reopen its Emergency Department tonight.

“The ground floors of all three blocks are flooded and all wards on the ground floor have been evacuated, the Emergency Department has been evacuated,” the spokesperson said.

Pictures published on the Donegal Daily website show the extent of the damage which was caused after the nearby River Swilly overflowed.

The hospital has a total of 320 beds but it is not yet known how many patients and staff have been effected by the flooding.

Some patients that were in wards evacuated from the ground floor have been moved into other wards in the hospital, the spokesperson said.

http://www.thejournal.ie/letterkenny-hospital-flooded-evacuation-1010702-Jul2013/?utm_source=facebook_short

This is actually quite scary. It just goes to show how important LGH is for the people of Donegal. Lets hope there is some co operation with Altnagalven, or the new SW Acute General Hospital in Enniskillen, as Sligo could be too far if someone in desperate need.

Although I dont get how flooding of the Swilly could effect it. The hospital is on way higher ground compared to it.

Mint Sauce

muffler wrote: »

Letterkenny must have got a hell of a hammering today...weather wise that is!

Dont know about today, but they did at times yesterday. Some of the roads were like rivers up there, and as far as Ballybofey. South of the Gap was bone dry.

Maldesu

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Although I dont get how flooding of the Swilly could effect it. The hospital is on way higher ground compared to it.

Looks like they took info from the <piece of paper that cannot be named>.. I had heard that Glencar was flooded. Despite that LGH is high enough up, its still surrounded by hills going up Fairview, Long Lane etc so there is still a lot of water running down to it. The new part of the hospital is built in a little valley and is even lower down that the old part.

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Dont know about today, but they did at times yesterday. Some of the roads were like rivers up there, and as far as Ballybofey. South of the Gap was bone dry.

Rained quite a bit here. Heavy for about 30 mins or so. Nice bit of thunder and lightning too. I wouldn't fancy living in Oldtown today.

muffler

Keep up at the rear please. We dont allow mention of that thing round these parts.

hootietootie

Tiny picture on Highlands site of the Oatfields roundabout-or where it's supposed to be! Glad I live on a hill-was bad for a while

retalivity

isnt the hospital....on a hill too?? How the hell did it flood??

Firblog

Just spoke to OH, She reckoned that there was a half hour there today where you wouldn't have been able to see your hand in front of your face if you were out in the rain; said one yard/cul de sac flooded and containers got moved by the water and huge skips were floating about...

she's up there with bucket an mop at the minute. No power, no kitchens, no pharmacy, no labs, no IT, no A&E, working with flashlights many wards shut, and nothing can reopen until it has all been disinfected as there is sewage in that floodwater.

Think LGH will be closed a while...:eek:

Wonder do they need an volunteers to help mop / clean? I'd be on for it..

hootietootie

retalivity wrote: »

isnt the hospital....on a hill too?? How the hell did it flood??

It's at the bottom of a big hill, and the top of another few-the new A&E dept is down off the main road as well

(The Journal says it happened after the nearby River Swilly overflowed-but the hospital is waaaay above that)

alchemist33

I took this beside the original Aldi at 6 o'clock, looking towards Oatfield. Had to turn around and get home another way. Then the road up to Glencar was like a river with a bit of road damage.

I'm not surprised about A/E -- it's in a hollow.

Mint Sauce

hootietootie wrote: »

It's at the bottom of a big hill, and the top of another few-the new A&E dept is down off the main road as well

(The Journal says it happened after the nearby River Swilly overflowed-but the hospital is waaaay above that)

If that was the case/cause, the entire town would be under several metres.

Maldesu

muffler wrote: »

Keep up at the rear please. We dont allow mention of that thing round these parts.

My bad. Though it just couldn't be linked to.

Apparently the new A&E had been flooded before it opened too and it cost a few grant to get cleaned up. You'd think they would have tried sort the flood risk then.

iMuse

Pics from Highland Radio

alchemist33

Shyte. That looks like a CT scanner up to its neck in water. That'll take time and money to sort out.

Mint Sauce

alchemist33 wrote: »

Shyte. That looks like a CT scanner up to its neck in water. That'll take time and money to sort out.

Was just thinking that. How much water is in that CT room?

The drains must be totally jamed around the new A&E. Seeing that water down the link corridor, did the water not run down the stairs at the end of it. Or where they trying to contain it so the Day services did not get hit as well?

Penfailed

That's mental

Firblog

Took this comment from thejournal.ie

A small stream on higher ground above the ED burst it’s banks and emptied into the ED car park subsequently flooding the whole ground floor. In reality this spells disaster for Letterkenny General Hospital, as i left the hospital tonight I think the devastation became more apparent, The Coronary Care Unit lost power, no cardiac monitoring for them, a potentially fatal scenario. Our new ED apparently is destroyed, walls collapsing, a foot of water in it. Patients trapped in wards, some evacuated, the lab flooded, is all that precious blood product lost?? Pharmacy flooded too, no drugs for the patients? To see the water flowing down the corridor was like something from the documentaries you see on natural disasters, horrifying. .... This will take months to sort out…..

Sounds terrible

michael999999

I feel reassured knowing we have some of the best payed planners and architects in the world designing our hospitals.

Wait for the one in a thousand years excuse.

We really can do **** all right in this country. And guess as to how many people will be held responsible for this? None.

homer simpson

michael999999 wrote: »

I feel reassured knowing we have some of the best payed planners and architects in the world designing our hospitals.

Wait for the one in a thousand years excuse.

We really can do **** all right in this country. And guess as to how many people will be held responsible for this? None.

Ah now, it seems to me like a freak event. Lets not all overreact.

NIMAN

Very sad news indeed.

muffler

michael999999 wrote: »

I feel reassured knowing we have some of the best payed planners and architects in the world designing our hospitals.

Wait for the one in a thousand years excuse.

We really can do **** all right in this country. And guess as to how many people will be held responsible for this? None.

Look, it was freak weather and you cant plan for something like that.

Lets think about the poor patients and staff for now instead of pointing the finger of blame...but if you do want to point it, aim it at the sky please.

Mint Sauce

Firblog wrote: »

Took this comment from thejournal.ie

A small stream on higher ground above the ED burst it’s banks and emptied into the ED car park subsequently flooding the whole ground floor. In reality this spells disaster for Letterkenny General Hospital, as i left the hospital tonight I think the devastation became more apparent, The Coronary Care Unit lost power, no cardiac monitoring for them, a potentially fatal scenario. Our new ED apparently is destroyed, walls collapsing, a foot of water in it. Patients trapped in wards, some evacuated, the lab flooded, is all that precious blood product lost?? Pharmacy flooded too, no drugs for the patients? To see the water flowing down the corridor was like something from the documentaries you see on natural disasters, horrifying. .... This will take months to sort out…..

Sounds terrible

Is that a worse case scenario, or has that actually happened.

Goes back to my first/earlier post, and hope there is some assistance from the local A&Es in NI. LGH to SGH is about 90 minutes driving within the speed limit. Altnagalvin half that. Now imagine doing the journey from the far N/NW of Donegal. Can see alot of extra work possibily from the Air Ambulance and Coastguard Helicopters as a result.

Mint Sauce

homer simpson wrote: »

Ah now, it seems to me like a freak event. Lets not all overreact.

In fairness though, despite the elevation of the hosptial, the enterence to the A&E its self is in a hollow.

Maldesu

homer simpson wrote: »

Ah now, it seems to me like a freak event. Lets not all overreact.

Freak event? Not really. We've seen that kind of rain here before and its not the first time that the A&E was flooded (at least according to one of my relations). Flood prevention just wasn't taken into consideration, probably due to the elevation, but that's hardly an excuse. The new A&E is in a valley - its only natural that water will run into it. Whoever picked the location, planned the design and gave approval for the built are fools, but its likely that when the words 'New Emergency Room' passed the desk it was just signed off on without even looking at the risk potential.

Penfailed

Maldesu wrote: »

Freak event? Not really.

Yes really.

Senna

I wonder how much rain actually fell between yesterday and today? I'd even say yesterdays rain was heavier than todays in the Ramelton/Milford area, but a few miles can make a huge difference.


There was even the start of a tornado over Manor, this picture was taken from Pramerica (above hospital)

Penfailed

This was over the Glenshane -

Number8

homer simpson wrote: »

Ah now, it seems to me like a freak event. Lets not all overreact.

I was there clearing water out beside hospital workers (nurses and doctors etc), fire brigade and army and listened to the staff basically saying 'we knew this would happen'... The place has been flooded before. It may well have been a serious event but not a freak by any standard. We expect heavy rain here and should plan accordingly. The engineers and people involved with planning and construction completely ignored the warnings given in two previous flooding incidents. Once the land was cleared to make way for the new wing a wreck like this was never far away. It's not a freak when preventing such an incident was never considered. Incompetence at its highest. The insurance company will have a good laugh when them idiots go looking to claim!

retalivity

am i right in saying that this is the second time the new emergency dept at Letterkenny has flooded, and it hasnt even opened yet?

donegal_road

retalivity wrote: »

am i right in saying that this is the second time the new emergency dept at Letterkenny has flooded, and it hasnt even opened yet?

I think its open almost a year (?) and I haven't heard of any such floods before.

oranbhoy67

donegal_road wrote: »

I think its open almost a year (?) and I haven't heard of any such floods before.

From reading about it online it seems it was actually flooded just before it was meant to be initially opened , which i think is why a lot of people are angry that no real lessons seemed to be learned from that first flood !

danniemcq

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqLoWQz4Kog&featureRoad yesterday tube_gdata_player

here, Have some terrible letterbox footage of the high road

Noreen1

It's been opened for some time, but you're right in saying this isn't the first time it flooded.

Noreen1

alchemist33 wrote: »

Shyte. That looks like a CT scanner up to its neck in water. That'll take time and money to sort out.

Here's another horrible thought. Isn't the MRI scanner on the same level?

michael999999

Noreen1 wrote: »

Here's another horrible thought. Isn't the MRI scanner on the same level?

Hopefully they are suspended off the floor!

Mint Sauce

New update. Glad to see the co operation of Altnagalven, and it being made use of

No indication though, when it will be reopened.

A MAJOR CLEAN-UP is underway at Letterkenny General Hospital after parts of it were flooded yesterday.

The hospital had to be partially evacuated yesterday evening after heavy rains caused flash flooding. The ground floor was said to be “completely destroyed” by the rising waters after the River Swilly overflowed.

A spokesperson for the hospital said that all ground floors in the three-block hospital were damaged in the flooding.

This morning, the HSE said in a statement that there is a major clean-up underway at Letterkenny General Hospital.

It said that the Emergency Department remains closed and patients are being diverted to Sligo Regional Hospital and Altnagelvin Hospital.

The hospital is currently closed to all visitors, as many areas have been flood damaged and soiled and the hospital wants to avoid risk of contamination and the spread of infection, said the HSE.

http://www.thejournal.ie/letterkenny-hospital-flooded-1010996-Jul2013/?utm_source=facebook_short

homer simpson

muffler

Meanwhile there has been other flood damage

a number of graves were damaged when a wall collapsed causing a huge deluge of water to sweep into Conwal Graveward in Co Donegal.

Linky

icescreamqueen

Great, trust me to pick a good time to be pregnant. I'm due our baby any minute, I'm overdue by 3 days. Does anyone know if the maternity ward is still open? I can't get through to the maternity ward for some reason.

alchemist33

icescreamqueen wrote: »

Great, trust me to pick a good time to be pregnant. I'm due our baby any minute, I'm overdue by 3 days. Does anyone know if the maternity ward is still open? I can't get through to the maternity ward for some reason.

Its fully functional. I know someone there.

Good luck!

Mint Sauce

Just seen your edit Muffler.

retalivity

homer simpson wrote: »

why the hell did they play music over the video??

Mint Sauce

retalivity wrote: »

why the hell did they play music over the video??

To make it more emotive I guess. I watched it with the sound off.

homer simpson

retalivity wrote: »

why the hell did they play music over the video??

More than likely done because it would have alarms going off.

muffler wrote: »

Meanwhile there has been other flood damage Linky

Damn those pesky planners, that must be their fault too :rolleyes:

CastorTroy

Drove over windyhall road yesterday evening about 530 and was like driving upstream. And I see today that the road past the Grange is a mess and now in need of repair

Flibbles

danniemcq wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqLoWQz4Kog&featureRoad yesterday tube_gdata_player

here, Have some terrible letterbox footage of the high road

That is awful, why do so many people on youtube refuse to hold their phone landscape?


I really want to know which genius planned an A&E in a small valley, halfway up a huge hill. Unbelievably stupid.

danniemcq

Flibbles wrote: »

That is awful, why do so many people on youtube refuse to hold their phone landscape?


I really want to know which genius planned an A&E in a small valley, halfway up a huge hill. Unbelievably stupid.

cause i was an idiot who couldn't remember what way to hold my phone.

didn't know how long the car was gonna be stopped etc.

Also this was a major once off for the region, In the same way you could criticise anywhere else that flooded.

I have never experienced such rain in such a short space of time here before.

Maldesu

danniemcq wrote: »

Also this was a major once off for the region, In the same way you could criticise anywhere else that flooded.

I have never experienced such rain in such a short space of time here before.

It's been that bad before, but just not in the last few years. Still though, flood mitigation should be a primary focus of any development, particularly something like a hospital.

Flibbles

danniemcq wrote: »

cause i was an idiot who couldn't remember what way to hold my phone.

didn't know how long the car was gonna be stopped etc.

Also this was a major once off for the region, In the same way you could criticise anywhere else that flooded.

I have never experienced such rain in such a short space of time here before.

Surely there should have been much stricter planning with something as important as a hospital though? I mean, the road goes down hill from a larger hill, and goes completely down hill until the entrance to A&E. It practically encourages rain to go down to it. Add to that the automatic doors (that were broken last time I was in there) and it's surprising this didn't happen sooner.


How much of the hospital is closed now? Last I heard it was pretty much the entire ground and first floors.

Noreen1

michael999999 wrote: »

Hopefully they are suspended off the floor!

They are indeed!

However, the question remains as to where the electrical ducting runs, and whether it was possible to shut the power off before it flooded.

Unlikely, I would think, given that the flooding occurred between 5 - 5.30 on a Friday evening. It's likely that they were operating on a skeleton staff at that time of evening. So, the question remains whether it was possible for the floodwater to reach a power source, and whether the CT and MRI scanners were turned off, thus avoiding a short circuit!