Fire-hit A&E department reopens

Residents in Chesterfield have been warned the emergency unit at Chesterfield Royal Hospital will now only be operating a limited service following the blaze which broke out in a newsagent’s stall.

Patients were evacuated from part of the building in Calow to hospitals in Sheffield, Rotherham, Mansfield and Derby, as the flames took hold on Saturday evening.

A hospital spokesman said these people will be returned as soon as possible, as long as they are clinically safe to travel.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service battled to contain the blaze, which broke out in the shop at the hospital’s main entrance and spread to the first floor before breaking through the roof. More than 50 firefighters and 10 appliances were called to the scene.

The hospital said the fire caused considerable damage to the main entrance, parts of the A&E reception area and the orthopaedic and fracture clinics.

From today, people attending for orthopaedic and fracture clinic out-patient appointments will be seen on Staveley Ward and the reception for some other services will move to the Scarsdale Wing entrance.

With the A&E department operating only limited services, the hospital has asked people with minor injuries to consider other available options.