Lincoln County Hospital accident and emergency department reopens after fire

Lincoln County Hospital's accident and emergency department has reopened – more than 48 hours after it was forced to close following a suspected arson attack.

The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust declared a major incident and warned patients not to attend the A&E after the fire in the early hours of Tuesday, 29 March.

The unit started to accept a small number of ambulances yesterday, but is now open to all patients.

However, scanning appointments remain cancelled. Patients will be contacted directly and may be offered appointments at other hospitals, the trust said.

A trust spokesperson said today: "The fire resulted in extensive damage to the hospital’s interventional radiology sterile procedures room, with further damage to the X-ray, CT and MRI imaging suites.

"The trust continues to offer its full support to the ongoing police and fire investigation."

A 56-year-old man has been charged with arson recklessly endangering life and is awaiting trial.

The majority of outpatient appointments are going ahead, the trust said.

But it added that "all trust sites are still under extreme pressure due to COVID-19".