Eight casualties from the major incident at Imperial Dock in Leith remain in hospital, with some suffering serious injuries.
NHS Lothian says that they received 21 patients in total, with 17 being treated at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh (RIE) and four people at the Western General Hospital (WGH). This was following a research ship, the RV Petrel, becoming dislodged from its holding in the dry dock at Leith on the morning of Wednesday, March 22.
19 of those injured were taken directly to the two Edinburgh hospitals by the Scottish Ambulance Service, with a further two people self-presenting at the RIE. Two other individuals were taken to hospital in Kirkcaldy.
READ MORE: RV Petrel: Story behind toppled Edinburgh ship, who owns her and why she's here
NHS Lothian say that nine have been discharged however eight are still in hospital, with some having suffered serious injuries. The four WGH patients are still awaiting to be discharged.
Appointments for outpatients, endoscopies and planned surgeries had to be cancelled at the RIE to allow the hospital staff to be able to deal with the influx of casualties - the hospital has said that there are no current plans to cancel appointments tomorrow.
Jacquie Campbell, chief officer of acute services, NHS Lothian, said: "Our staff are working tirelessly to ensure patients get the best care and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident.
“A&E at the RIE is the busiest in Scotland and 80 patients were already waiting for, or receiving, treatment in A&E prior to this incident. We worked quickly to create additional capacity across our hospitals, with support from partners and other sites.
“This included working with our health and social care partnerships (HSCPs) to discharge those who could leave hospital to maximise capacity across the system. Unfortunately, we did have to cancel outpatient appointments, endoscopies and planned surgeries at the RIE today to enable staff from other areas to support their A&E colleagues and to free-up our surgical staff for emergencies.
“There are no plans at this time to postpone appointments or elective procedures tomorrow, but assessments continue and patients will be contacted directly if the situation changes.I want to thank our staff, colleagues in the HSCPs and across the wider healthcare system for their considerable efforts to adapt quickly and respond to this incident, and their offers of support.
“There are now 47 patients in A&E and we’ve been able to keep this open to the public throughout our response to this incident. However, our staff remain very busy and we continue to urge people not to attend A&E unless it's an emergency.
“Please contact your GP or NHS 24 on 111 for advice if you think you need urgent care.”
The BBC had reported this afternoon that one of those injured on the boat had undergone surgery following the shocking emergency.
A spokesperson for the SAS said earlier today: "We received a call at 8:29am today to attend an incident in Leith. We have dispatched five ambulances, an air ambulance, three trauma teams, our special operations team (SORT), three Paramedic Response Units (PRU) and one patient transport vehicle.”
Further emergency services Police Scotland, Scotland Fire and Rescue Service and an air ambulance were on site alongside the SAS.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 8.43am on Wednesday, 22 March to reports of an incident at Imperial Dock, Leith, Edinburgh. Operations Control mobilised four appliances and a number of specialist resources to assist emergency service partners.
"A number of casualties were passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service. Crews left the scene at 3 pm.”
Police Scotland said that they were called at around 8.35am following a report of a ship becoming dislodged from its dry dock in Edinburgh. They said that emergency services attended at the location at Imperial Dock, Leith, and a multi-agency response was co-ordinated by Police Scotland.
Officers added that at around 1.20pm, all casualties were confirmed as being removed from the area and everyone accounted for. Police remain at the scene as enquiries continue.
Superintendent Mark Rennie said: “I would like to thank partner agencies involved in the response to this incident which involved a complex operation to make sure everyone was safe.
“There is no risk to the wider public and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what has happened. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed.
“I would also like to thank the public for their patience while the emergency services undertook a very difficult job aiding casualties. We continue to ask people to avoid the area.”
Those in Leith spotted the ship at a 45 degree angle and one-eye witness commented that: “You could see the boat across the docks at a severe angle. There are ambulances lined up one after another on the dockside with their lights on. I just hope everyone is ok."
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