AMBULANCES were turned away and some patients were evacuated from a hospital after the air conditioning overheated.

Crews from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service were called to Worthing Hospital when the fire alarm went off and ambulances were diverted to Brighton and Chichester while the air conditioning was fixed.

The minor injuries waiting room was evacuated and nobody was allowed to enter the hospital during the problem on Saturday night but the rest of the patients and staff remained in the hospital. Two fire engines attended the scene along with officers from Sussex Police who helped to keep the situation under control.

Patricia Bourner, from Goring, went to the hospital to pick up her sister and arrived to find she was not allowed in – describing the scene as being in “meltdown”.

The 62-year-old said: “My husband and I were at Worthing hospital but weren’t allowed in.

“Everything was in meltdown with ambulances being turned away.

“People were just standing around not sure what to do.

“I asked if there was any way for my sister to come out but they could not and there were loads of police there.

“We waited around two hours. I phoned my sister on the ward and in the end they did bring her out – it all sounded quite serious at the time.”

The incident started at 8.26pm and the drama lasted about two hours until the firefighters left the scene – leaving the problem unit in the care of the hospital’s engineering team.

A spokesman for Western Sussex Hospitals said: “It would appear some equipment overheated in our plant room which trigged the fire alarm.

“The fire crews attended and for about two hours ambulances were diverted as a precaution to Brighton, Chichester and potentially East Surrey depending where they were in the county.”