Sector: Facilities Management
Client: KRH Contracts Ltd
Project Location: Newham General Hospital, Glen Road, London, E13 8RU
Duration of project: 1 night
When extreme weather hits the UK, this can be damaging and chaotic for public services. London Drainage Facilities were contacted after Newham General Hospital in East London was forced to close its busy A&E department due to flash flooding in July 2021. A major incident was declared, and patients were asked to attend a neighbouring hospital where possible. London Drainage Facilities were approached by KRH Contracts Ltd to respond to this emergency situation and were delighted to get the department back up and running overnight.
Challenge
Following a weekend of torrential rain in late July, Newham Hospital experienced flooding in several areas prompting them to close parts of their accident and emergency unit. The neighbouring Whipps Cross hospital had similar problems making it critical that the A&E department could be restored back to normality as quickly as possible. Further rainfall and general chaos in London was caused as eight tube stations were closed across the capital and motorists became stranded by floodwater escaping from the drainage systems.
It was essential that London Drainage Facilities responded quickly, whilst dealing with the ongoing impact of the torrential rain.
Solution
After a quick site inspection, we provided tanker and wet vacs works to effectively pump out floodwater from the A&E department. Initially the tanker works were sufficient to remove large volumes of water from the hospital; however, we finished off with our wet vac machinery to clear the last lower volumes of water once the tanker had become ineffective.
We provided four teams who worked hard overnight to complete the job in the early hours of the following morning and to ensure that the A&E department could quickly resume a full service.
Towards the end of the works, we were approached by a government no. 10 press officer, who had been dispatched to the site on behalf of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. His task was to create a report explaining why an NHS A&E department had been forced to close. Our team were happy to offer a full explanation of the challenge we faced, the services we offered and the positive outcome. As a result, the facilities manager of the House of Commons requested that we attend their own site to deal with a similar flash flooding problem on the same day.
Get in touch to find out more about our services
When a flood strikes, this has the potential to permanently damage your home, business premises or public facility. It’s important to act fast and contact a professional team offering emergency flood clearance services.
London Drainage Facilities offer a jet vacuumation service with high suction capability. This feature means that most flood situations can be resolved whilst the buildings are still occupied, as was the case with Newham General Hospital.
Our services are also suitable for septic tank emptying, removal of solid debris from pump stations, drain sewer cleaning and the removal of contamination from water courses or chambers.
To learn more about our extensive range of routine and emergency drainage services, please contact our 24-hour helpline on 0800 612 2179.
