In an outstanding display of professionalism and dedication, EMED’s BGSW team sprang into action when a power outage struck the Great Western Hospital last week, on the 9th of July. Despite the challenging circumstances, EMED’s crews worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of all patients.
With quick thinking and brilliant coordination, the Swindon-based team successfully relocated patients to safety and so that they could continue and complete their journeys. The team’s swift response and effective communication played a crucial role in maintaining the continuity of patient care during this unexpected event.
Hospital staff and EMED’s senior leadership team have praised the team for their exemplary performance under pressure, highlighting their commitment to patient safety. The successful patient relocation is a testament to the dedication and expertise of EMED staff in times of crisis.
As the hospital resumed its normal operations this week, the team’s actions during the power outage exemplify professionalism and compassion in the face of adversity. Senior Operations Manager Ashley Lane tells the tale:
“On Tuesday, July 9th, 2024, at approximately 14:30pm, we received an urgent notification about a power outage at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. The backup generators failed to activate, leading to a critical situation where essential treatments were disrupted, and patients were left stranded in various departments due to the non-functioning lifts.
Kate Manai, Lead PTLO for the BGSW contract, promptly travelled to the hospital to coordinate the response and notified me en route that she would provide an update upon her arrival. In the interim, I relayed the situation to Simon Richards, EMED’s Health and Safety Manager.
It turns out that patients and various other people were stuck on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of both the main hospital and the Brunel Centre, unable to receive treatment and requiring evacuation.
While Kate orchestrated activities at the hospital with the support of our Patient Safety Liaison Assistant, Janine Pearson, I reached out to all of EMED’s bases in the area, as well as Control to find resources that we could divert to the Great Western Hospital to help evacuate these patients.
Our crews demonstrated exceptional dedication and commitment, carrying patients down from the fourth floor, which involved navigating a total of 92 steps. Some of our crews repeated this strenuous task six times! They went above and beyond to ensure the safety of the patients, moving them down to the discharge lounge, where other crews met them, ready to take them home or back to their original wards.
Although the fire services were present – solely to evacuate a critically ill pediatric patient to another hospital – they informed us that they were unable to assist with other patients, because it wasn’t a life-or-death situation.
We greatly appreciate the support we received from controllers, PTLOs, and Supervisors from other bases who travelled to the Great Western Hospital to assist in moving and evacuating the patients.
The incident was a significant team effort, demonstrating our resilience and commitment. Everyone came together, working collaboratively for the benefit of our patients and the general public. We successfully facilitated the movement of 30 additional patients, on top of those we had already planned to move!
I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the sacrifice made by Kate Manai. On what was her 60th birthday, she selflessly cancelled her plans to celebrate and stayed at the hospital until the last patient was safely transported home. Her dedication is truly commendable.
The last patient was transported home at around 7pm that night.
The following is a list of names who were on site at the Great Western Hospital, and who all played a crucial role in the incident:
The empathy and resilience displayed by everyone involved in this challenging situation are truly heartwarming, and their actions will be long remembered.”
