Parts of Dorset County Hospital remain closed this weekend after being hit by flooding.

The Dorchester hospital has transferred patients elsewhere because a leak caused flooding in its Emergency Department.

Water seeped into the building overnight on Thursday, March 23 and several patients had to be transported by ambulance to other local hospitals.

The internal leak responsible for the flooding has now stopped and the hospital is in the process of cleaning and repairing the affected areas.

A review will now be carried out to establish what happened.

However, parts of the Emergency Department will remain closed over the weekend and other areas of the hospital will be used to compensate.

Patients are no longer being transferred to other hospitals and the affected ward is expected to be back to normal from this evening.

DCH says that University Hospitals Dorset, Dorset Healthcare, Yeovil Hospital and Salisbury District Hospital have been supporting patients while it deals with the problem.

It is also urging people to make sure they use the correct NHS service.

A Dorset County Hospital spokesperson said: “Overnight, an internal leak caused flooding on one of our wards and in our Emergency Department.

“This morning several patients were taken by ambulance to other local hospitals to ensure they could receive treatment in a safe environment.

“The leak that caused the flooding has stopped and we are now in the process of cleaning and repairing the affected areas. 

“Patients will no longer be transferred to other hospitals and the affected ward will be back to normal from this evening.

"Whilst areas of the Emergency Department will remain closed over the weekend, other areas of the hospital will be used to ensure the department continues to function normally. 

“We are carrying out a review to establish exactly what happened and see if there are any measures that we need to put in place to prevent this from happening again.

“To make sure our Emergency Department can treat those in need of urgent care, we are asking people to please choose the right NHS service and make use of local Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injuries Units. We would like to thank people for bearing with us.”

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