Dartford MP calls hospital water issues "extremely concerning"
Darent Valley Hospital's west block has been without water for over a week, and is not set to be fully fixed until Saturday.
As we reach over a week of water issues at Darent Valley Hospital, MP for Dartford Jim Dickson spoke to us about the water supply issue, and how he believes it should be handled going forward.
"I'm extremely concerned by the water outage at Darren Valley Hospital. It's become a critical situation. I'm very concerned on behalf of constituents. Many of them have contacted me and told me about the fact that they believe either their loved ones or they themselves as patients in Darren Valley.
"They believe their safety is compromised.
"I have been making the hospital aware of those accounts from patients and loved ones of patients and the hospital have been looking to try to take those things on board. I believe they are doing their best under difficult circumstances, but I am still having reports that things need to improve in the way they're managing this difficult situation.
"And of course, I'm urging them to make sure they and the building owners resolve the position as soon as they possibly can so things can get back to normal."
When it comes to safety, Dickson cited worries about those unable to leave their beds receiving sub-optimal bathing, and access to bottled drinking water being less frequent than patients would like.
Looking to the future, Dickson said he would be investigating the relationship between the building owners and the Trust, to work out where responsibility for the issue lay.
In a statement released yesterday about the water situation, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said:
"We would like to sincerely apologise to our patients, visitors and staff for the ongoing water supply issues affecting the west block of Darent Valley Hospital since Tuesday 28 April. We recognise the disruption and inconvenience this is causing, and we are grateful for the patience and understanding shown by everyone affected while we work to resolve the issue safely."
The Trust continued to say that while repair work on the issue had been completed, the pipes would not need significant time to be cleaned and in order to test the water's cleanliness before anyone would be advised to use it.
Their advice for patients, visitors and staff was:
Do not drink tap water in affected areas.
Use bottled water and designated handwashing facilities provided.
Toilets remain safe to use across the whole hospital.
Follow all guidance from staff on safe facilities to use.
Speak to a member of staff if you are unsure which facilities to use.
The Trust added:
"We understand the frustration and inconvenience this is causing. Please be assured that we are treating this with the utmost seriousness and will return the affected areas to normal use once all required assurance checks have been completed and the water supply is confirmed as safe."
We've asked Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust for comment on Dickson's claims of issues with drinking water and bathing access, and hope to hear from them shortly.