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PATIENTS COME UNSTUCK AT SELLY OAK

21-12-2007

Patients trying to leave an out of hours surgery at Birmingham’s Selly Oak hospital have been locked in by dodgy doors – leaving them with no means of escape in an emergency.

The automatic exit at the Badger Centre – which by day is the hospital’s outpatients department - simply wouldn’t open according to city councilor Emily Cox, who took her young daughter there one day last week.

“Staff there told me it happens all the time” Cox commented

“What really worried me was that a doctor said that it was the only way out if there was a fire. I don’t know if it was, but that’s what he said.”

What happened next, Cox said, “would have been funny if it hadn’t been so serious”

She described a member of staff standing on a box, and rebooting the system via a control panel on the wall. Only then were she and her little girl able to leave.

“It’s shocking to think of that going on every night,” she said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for South Birmingham Primary Care Trust said: “Having spoken to Badger who operate from that department Out of Hours, I understand that the door fault had already been reported and they are involving engineers to carry out the work via the hospital.

“They will notify when this is complete and I can inform you. In the meantime, there are security on site to assist with any issues and to avoid problems with access.”

When Cox heard the response, she said, “That’s complacent beyond belief. I’m extremely worried about what could happen. I don’t know why they need security. You can’t get out.”