A UK hospital has warned patients not to go to A&E after it declared a major incident.

Queen Alexandra Hospital, in Portsmouth, has issued the alert after an unexpected “serious loss” of power this morning.

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A spokesperson for Queen Alexandra Hospital said: “As a result of an unexpected serious loss of power, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has today declared a Major Incident at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

“The hospital is safe and our staff are working hard to continuing providing care for patients already with us, but we have made the decision to close to new attendances to our Emergency Department.”

The hospital urged patients with serious medical conditions to phone 999 or NHS 111 if there is an emergency – not go to the QA Hospital Emergency Department.

Patients and visitors will also find the phone lines and switchboard are affected, which means they will not be able to call from or into the hospital.

“Our on-site teams are working to restore power as soon as possible. We expect some services will be affected today and there may be some cancellations, but please do continue to attend unless you have been contacted or updated through us,” the spokesperson added.

“We will keep you updated with any developments and potential impact on other services.”