Thousands call for aircon throughout the hospital

Thousands are calling for air conditioning throughout the hospital after temperatures on the children's ward exceeded 31 degrees during heatwaves.

A petition has been re-publicised by Mum, Charlotte Machon, on Facebook, saying that last week, the temperature on Robin Ward was 'unbearable'.

She says she has formally complained to the Government, and asks islanders to sign the petition that has already been set up:

Robyn Conway is a mum who was on Robin Ward with her daughter in May; she says her room hit 31 degrees:

"It's bad enough seeing your child so poorly fighting a temperature, but to see them fighting their illness in that heatwave was horrible. 

"My daughter was asking for cuddles, and I was so nervous about giving them in case I actually raised her temperature even further.

"The nurses were absolutely amazing, and they were doing everything they could to keep everyone as comfortable as they could, but they were obviously extremely hot themselves. 

"They were monitoring the different rooms and areas across the ward, I think to gather evidence, actually, as to how hot it was getting.

"My daughter's room hit 31.4 degrees at one point; it was absolutely awful."

The ageing hospital does have air conditioning in places - but not everywhere, and not in the children's ward - and it failed in other departments during the May heatwave, postponing some surgeries. 

READ: Three hospital operating theatres closed after air-con failure

Simon West, Medical Director for Health and Care Jersey, said:

“We have deployed portable air conditioning units throughout the hospital, including on Robin Ward, to try to help keep patients and staff as comfortable as possible.

We have also recently installed a new chiller unit on the hospital roof, replacing a broken unit, to ensure temperatures within our operating theatres remain at a level that is safe to operate."

"HCJ will review the impact of the period of extreme heat across all our estates as part of our standard emergency planning processes. This will support the ongoing development of our resilience plans to respond."

The hospital says it is deploying portable air conditioning units where possible, but cannot overload its electrical systems in the ageing building:

“Patient safety is our number one priority, and we need to avoid any risk of overloading systems or creating fire hazards.

“Wherever possible, patients have been moved to air-conditioned areas. We are also providing ice, cold drinks and ice lollies to help patients stay comfortable during periods of extreme heat."

The petition will get a response from Ministers as it has surpassed 1,000 signatures.

It needs 5,000 to be considered for debate by the States Assembly.