One of England’s lowest-ranked NHS trusts is facing mounting backlash from furious patients as its main hospital has been without a major water supply for one week – with disruption set to continue until at least the weekend.
The west block of Darent Valley Hospital in Kent, which accounts for around half of the site, has been without running water since Tuesday, April 28, following reports of alleged sewage contamination.
An official statement by Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said ‘an issue’ was discovered that could ‘compromise water quality’.
However, there has been no confirmation over the exact cause of the outage.
A spokesperson previously said an issue arose from an internal fault within the hospital’s heating system ‘which led to potential contamination of the hot and cold water network’.
As a result, patients have been unable to drink water from taps in the block or use washing facilities for one week.
This has led to claims that patients are being cleaned with wet wipes and staff being unable to properly wash themselves on site.
The Trust has been approached for comment on those specific allegations, but it previously said that bottled water had been handed out to patients, while portable handwashing facilities had been set up.
The west block of Darent Valley Hospital in Kent, which accounts for around half of the site, has been without running water since Tuesday, April 28
Ranked 90th out of 134 in NHS England’s official performance league table – which considers care, waiting times and ambulance response times – the Trust announced on Tuesday that repairs have been completed to the water systems but that the supply cannot yet ‘return to normal use’.
Water samples are currently undergoing laboratory testing to confirm safety, with results not expected before Friday, May 9, at the earliest.
In its latest update, the Trust said: ‘Until then, some areas of the hospital will continue to have restrictions on tap water use. These areas are clearly signposted. Toilets remain fully operational, and alternative arrangements are in place to provide safe drinking water and independent handwashing facilities where needed.
‘In the remainder of the hospital – including surgical services, intensive care, radiology, most outpatient areas, the main entrance, and catering and cleaning services – the water supply is safe, unaffected and available for normal use.
‘The hospital remains open and fully operational. The situation continues to be managed through the Trust’s incident response arrangements, with ongoing review to ensure patient care can continue safely.’
The Trust apologised for the ‘frustration and inconvenience’ caused by the lack of water.
It urged patients, visitors and staff not to drink tap water in the affected areas, and to use bottled water and ‘designated handwashing facilities provided’.
Toilets remain safe to use, however patients and visitors have been urged to contact staff with any queries they may be unsure about.
Recent patients in the hospital and family members of current patients have taken to social media to claim the situation is a ‘ticking health bomb’.
One wrote on Darent Valley Hospital Facebook page: ‘The patients are being cleaned with wet wipes and the poor nurses, aux workers are not able to scrub up after cleaning patients.’
They added: ‘No clean crockery and no disposable cups for the catering team or plastic beakers. The cups filthy as not being able to be cleaned properly.
‘The struggle is immense for the poor nurses. Not being able to scrub up goes completely against their work ethic, they are being treated like c**p and very soon there is going to be a major health emergency there soon due to the contamination.
‘I’m so glad to be home and clean for the first time in 5 days, but desperately worried about the patients left behind.’
Another claimed her 97-year-old mother-in-law is in ‘one of the affected wards’ and that ‘major health risks are continuing’.
They added: ‘With wards not being cleaned it’s a ticking health bomb.’
The Daily Mail has approached Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust for comment on the allegations of uncleanliness on Monday. The Trust directed us to their most recent statement on Tuesday morning, and said it is investigating the other claims.
