Emergency A&E Restoration at Newham General Hospital

Project Snapshot

Client	KRH Contracts Ltd (on behalf of Newham General Hospital)
Sector	Healthcare / Facilities Management
Location	Newham General Hospital, Glen Road, London E13 8RU
Services	Vacuum tanker works, wet vac flood clearance, high-pressure drain jetting
Duration	1 night

Overview

On a weekend in late July 2021, a flash flood forced Newham General Hospital to close its A&E department. A major incident was declared. Patients were diverted to neighbouring hospitals, including Whipps Cross, which was dealing with its own flooding. The situation was serious, and the window for restoring the department to full service was narrow.

LDF were called. We worked through the night and had the A&E operational again by the following morning.

Later that same day, LDF was requested at the House of Commons, where the same storm system had caused flooding in the Palace of Westminster. The two jobs ran simultaneously.

The Challenge

The July 2021 flooding was the most intense rainfall London had experienced in years. Eight tube stations closed across the capital. Motorists were stranded. The city’s combined sewer system was overwhelmed as surface water flooded through drainage infrastructure across multiple boroughs simultaneously.

For Newham General Hospital, the consequences were immediate and serious. Flooding in multiple areas of the A&E department rendered it unable to operate safely. With Whipps Cross Hospital also affected and unable to absorb full patient overflow, restoring Newham’s emergency capacity overnight wasn’t just operationally important, it was a matter of public safety.

KRH Contracts Ltd engaged LDF for emergency response. The job needed to be done in one night, with the department ready to resume full service by morning.

Our Approach

Following a rapid site inspection, LDF deployed four teams working simultaneously across the affected areas.

We used a two-stage approach. Our tanker units tackled the high-volume water first, removing the bulk of the floodwater across the department quickly. Once water levels dropped to the point where tanker suction was no longer the most effective tool, we transitioned to high-suction wet vac machinery to clear the remaining water thoroughly, including from lower-level floor areas and tight spaces.

High-pressure jetting was also used to clear the drainage systems themselves, ensuring that when the department reopened, the underlying drainage infrastructure was functioning properly and not at risk of re-flooding.

Because our jet-vacuumation equipment offers such high suction, flood water can be cleared while the surrounding building stays occupied and operational — important at Newham, where the wider hospital kept running throughout our works.

Working overnight and coordinating across multiple teams, we completed the clearance in the early hours of the following morning, ahead of the hospital’s reopening window.

The Outcome

Newham General Hospital’s A&E department was fully restored overnight and resumed normal service the following morning. No permanent damage to the department resulted from the flooding.

Towards the end of works, a government press officer arrived on site, dispatched on behalf of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to understand why an NHS A&E had been forced to close. Our team provided a full account of the challenge, the response, and the outcome. That briefing reached the Facilities Manager at the House of Commons, who called us the same day to attend the Palace of Westminster, where we ran a second major flood response simultaneously.

About This Project Type

Emergency flood response in healthcare and public sector buildings requires rapid mobilisation, multi-team deployment, and a clear method for high-volume water removal. The tanker-then-wet-vac approach used here is LDF’s standard protocol for large-scale commercial flood response: tankers handle the volume, wet vacs finish the clearance. 4 teams working overnight is a typical deployment for a building of this scale.

LDF operates 24/7 across London and the South East with a 2-hour average emergency response time. Planned preventative maintenance programmes are available for estates teams looking to reduce drainage-related flood risk.

Work with LDF

Call our 24-hour helpline: 0800 612 2179
Or visit: london-drainage.com/vacuum-tanker-works-flood-clearance

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