A hospital has closed its emergency department and declared a major incident due to an “unexpected serious loss of power”.

Patients have been warned the outage at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire, means some appointments may be cancelled.

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has told those with appointments to attend unless they have been contacted and instructed otherwise, either directly or via the hospital’s website or social media.

Phone lines and switchboards have been affected, meaning people are unable to call into or receive calls from the hospital.

The trust said in a statement that the “hospital is safe” and staff are “working hard to continue providing care for patients already with us”.

Read more UK news:
Ex-England cricketer dies aged 55
Jay Slater’s funeral to be a ‘celebration of his life’
Teens charged after ‘vulnerable’ man dies in fire

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

However, the site will not be receiving any new patients in its emergency department.

The trust said in its statement: “As a result of an unexpected serious loss of power, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has declared a major incident at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

“Patients with a serious medical condition must phone NHS 111 or 999 in an emergency and not attend the QA Hospital Emergency Department.”

On-site teams are working to “restore power as soon as possible”, the trust added.

Related posts:

PMQs didn’t help much – these key unanswered questions remain over Boris Johnson’s flat refurb Police investigate ‘suspicious’ death of serving PCSO in Kent Wayne Couzens handcuffed and arrested Sarah Everard before killing her, court hears Eleven Insulate Britain protesters arrested after blocking M25 for seventh time despite injunction Booster jabs to be given sooner to people in some vulnerable groups Cute alert! First baby seals of the season spotted on Norfolk beach Woman killed by ex-husband in Maida Vale ‘failed by Met Police’ Driver jailed for killing pedestrian while speeding at ‘ludicrous’ 113mph in 40mph zone Warning of long delays as millions set to travel over Easter weekend Woman who died after being hit by car named – as boy, 12, held on suspicion of murder Woman who died in four-vehicle crash had ‘so much more life to live’, say parents A timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance