Patients praise NHS staff after burst pipe in a mental health unit

A burst pipe caused flooding at Dane Garth mental health unit on the Furness General Hospital site, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in November, meaning people in the building were evacuated. The patients were safely back on the wards within 24 hours, thanks to a quick response from staff, colleagues from health, social and emergency services working together to manage the incident. A patient meeting was held when everyone arrived back at the ward to talk about their experiences and some of the comments can be found below: “We were kept updated throughout the day’ “concerns over medication were dealt with promptly” “hot drinks available at all times” “even got a packed lunch at tea time” “one big communal area all together” “staff worked hard keeping us calm and finding places for us to go overnight” “felt safe all day” Staff worked tirelessly, late into the evening to deal with the incident – coordinating transport, medication and patient care from a neighbouring building. Colleagues from a number of organisations worked together to ensure that patients were relocated quickly, safely and with as little disruption as possible. Staff from Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust helped Cumbria Fire Service evacuate the building and accompanied patients to their temporary care settings. The Morecambe Bay University Hospitals Trust were quick to offer up beds at Furness General Hospital and office space for affected staff. Barbara Redshaw from Risedale Estates offered up space for 12 patients at Abbey Meadows nursing home, ensuring the beds were made up and food was ready for them as soon as they arrived. Other patients were transferred to Yewdale Ward in Whitehaven and Carlisle’s Carleton Clinic. Additional staff were available on the wards and in the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team to ensure the safe care of patients overnight. The North West Ambulance Trust helped transport some of the patients, and North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust were on standby to help if needed. The knock-on effect of patients being relocated meant that admissions to mental health wards in the rest of the county were temporarily closed, but all the partner organisations, including Cumbria County Council and the Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group were involved throughout the incident to ensure that a contingency plan was in place. Estates and Facilities staff from Cumbria Partnership were quick on the scene to assess the damage, ensure it was safe for patients and staff to return and make arrangements for repairs, which will include replacing some of the carpets. The local Asda also very kindly donated cakes for the staff who were working hard in the incident room. The Danegarth Unit at Furness General Hospital includes two wards – Dova is a 20 bedded unit for adults with acute mental health needs and Ramsey is a 15 bedded unit for older adults with illnesses such as dementia.