Leeds’ St James’ Hospital was evacuated after a hoax threat over a telephone call.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals issused a statement earlier today (Monday, January 13) confirming a ward and neighbouring areas were evacuated as a precaution. West Yorkshire Police co-ordinated the response.
The force later determined the threat was not ‘credible’ and patients were escorted back to their wards. The hospital praised the work of all who helped. In an initial post on X, the hospital trust said: “We have received a telephone threat concerning ward J42 at St James’s University Hospital. West Yorkshire Police are on site leading the response. We are exploring how credible this threat is.
“The Trust’s Incident Co-ordination Centre has been set-up, and our absolute priority is taking steps to keep patients, visitors and staff safe. As a precaution we are evacuating the ward and neighbouring areas.”
The trust later posted an update, at 2.28pm, which said: “We have had confirmation from West Yorkshire Police that the threat is not a credible one. The Incident Co-ordination Centre is now taking steps with colleagues to ensure the safe move of patients back to their wards and areas of care.
“Thank you to everyone involved in the safe and swift response this afternoon. It has been a brilliant response from the ward, staff, police and everyone else involved. All in all a superb approach from teams and individuals.”
Get all the latest and breaking news in Leeds by signing up to our newsletter here.