A COVID patient has praised Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH) staff for going “beyond the call of duty” after power outages left the hospital “freezing cold”.

Outages and issues with the radiators left patients and staff at RBH suffering with the cold over the weekend.

A combination of factors – including air pockets in the radiators, drop in temperatures and issues with the electricity supply locally – led to patients being given extra blankets and electric heaters put in wards.

Amid the struggles to repair the heating issues, one patient in the hospital’s Covid ward has said staff “did everything they could” to keep him and others warm, describing staff as “beyond amazing”.

The patient was one of six men in a section of the Covid ward when temperatures dropped suddenly.

He told the Daily Echo: “I want recognition for the staff because my God they were under pressure.

“They were freezing but did everything they could to keep us warm and comfortable. We all felt so sorry for them because they were just in these hoodies. They were superb, just amazing. I can’t tell you how eye-opening this has been for me.

“I saw them working non-stop, bringing blankets to us and even putting them over the windows to keep out any cold air. [On Sunday] morning they managed to source a heater and brought that in too. They just went beyond the call of duty for us.”

A University Hospitals Dorset spokesperson said electricity 'brownouts' in the local area caused automatic doors at the Castle Lane hospital to 'malfunction'.

This led to "prolonged heat loss from the building as the cold wind chilled corridors".

While this is now fixed, it is likely to take "some time" for the large building to get back up to temperature, the spokesperson added.

A brownout is a very brief interruption in the electrical supply locally.

On Saturday, there were a number of issues with power cuts and electricity supply in the area. Around 140 postcodes in this area were affected, said the SSE power outage map.

The spokesperson added: "Until the radiator system is operating as normal again electric heaters have been issued to wards, and staff are asked to ensure patients and visitors stay clothed appropriately, and have extra blankets if required."

Mr Sheridan continued: “When I came to the hospital, I couldn’t breathe and thought I was dying. I was told I’d be here for a good few weeks but the staff here expedited my recovery. It will be a slow and uphill struggle but the staff have given me my confidence to carry on.”

A UHD spokesperson confirmed on Sunday morning that the situation was improving.