Bristol Fire Evacuates 53 Patients From Major Hospital Center

A system-wide major incident declared after an overnight fire at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre forced the evacuation of 53 patients and left the adult Emergency Department at Bristol Royal Infirmary treating only minor injuries and walk-in conditions.

Scope of service changes

The adult Emergency Department at the BRI now handles only minor injuries and walk-in conditions, with all in-patient admissions diverted to other South West Emergency Departments. Patients across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire have been asked not to use A&E unless it is a genuine emergency. The Bristol Eye Hospital and Children's Hospital Emergency Departments remain unaffected and continue to operate normally. Fire crews and partner agencies continue to monitor the Bristol city centre area after a ruptured gas main on Colston Street, though the emergency response has been scaled back and roads are now open.

Numbers that define the response

The evacuation of 53 patients stands as the clearest available measure of the overnight fire's immediate impact. No other quantitative details on patient numbers, diversion volumes or bed capacity have been released in official updates. The request for residents to avoid A&E unless it is a genuine emergency replaces any normal volume of attendances with alternatives such as NHS 111 and local minor injuries units.

Residents can obtain emergency information from local radio stations including BBC Radio Bristol, Heart and Hits Radio, from BBC Points West and ITV West, and from official updates on the Bristol City Council homepage and Twitter.

Services remain under the system-wide major incident declaration, with monitoring of the Colston Street area ongoing while roads stay open.