Hospital evacuated in 'emergency incident' with firefighters at scene

A hospital has been evacuated following an incident, it has been reported. A number of fire engines are at the scene at Bristol Royal Infirmary.

According to Bristol Live there are at least six fire appliances in attendance. An eyewitness earlier told the paper: "BRI has been evacuated. 3 fire engines on scene. The place was evacuated, with fire alarms sounding and [we're] all outside in the fire evacuation area."

University Hospitals Bristol Weston NHS Foundation Trust which runs the hospital has confirmed there is a "critical incident". In a post on X, formerly Twitter, it said: "We have declared an internal critical incident due to a power outage affecting a number of our hospitals in Bristol city centre.

"We are asking the public not to attend our hospitals until the incident is resolved. Please use alternative services in the area. Anyone needing urgent medical help should contact NHS 111."

Roads around the hospital have been closed and Avon and Somerset Police are at the scene.

Dr Rebecca Maxwell, Interim Chief Medical Officer at UHBW said: "We have declared a critical incident due to a power outage. We aim to have this fully resolved as soon as possible. All patients, visitors and colleagues are safe.

"We ask the public not to attend our Bristol city centre hospitals until the incident is resolved and use alternative services in the area. We thank you for your cooperation."