Barnet Hospital has been placed on lockdown after a woman allegedly brought a broken container into A&E prompting a ‘chemical incident.’
A witness told MailOnline that a woman came in with what appeared to be a broken container and was immediately rushed outside by hospital staff.
‘I’m in the waiting area. We are not being allowed to leave or move departments,’ CJ Churchill said.
Barnet Hospital has been placed on lockdown after a woman allegedly brought a broken container into A&E prompting a ‘chemical incident’
A witness told MailOnline that a woman came in with what appeared to be a broken container and was immediately rushed outside by hospital staff
‘The police have locked the Unit down someone came in with something she had broken open and they sent that person straight outside. Then locked the hospital down.
‘They have just sent a doctor out to get a swab to find out what the women’s been exposed to,’ they added.
MPS Barnet wrote in Twitter: ‘Barnet General Hospital A&E is currently closed for an ongoing incident. Police are on scene and dealing.’
Inside the A&E room, CJ Churchill told MailOnline: ‘People here were getting upset but they were panicking and upsetting others.
‘The staff have been brilliant at Barnet a&e and have done there best and worked to very hard to calm people.
‘Making people tea and giving as biscuits. Also dealing with people who were not listening to them and upsetting others.’
A witness explained that a woman came in with the item and was immediately rushed outside by hospital staff (patients forced to wait in A&E while safety checks are carried out)
MPS Barnet wrote in Twitter: ‘Barnet General Hospital A&E is currently closed for an ongoing incident. Police are on scene and dealing’
Adding: ‘I’m in the waiting area. We were not being allowed to leave or move departments. The police had locked the Unit down. someone came in with something she had broken open and they sent that person straight outside. Then locked the hospital down.
‘The staff have been really good. That’s needs to be reported. Especially shouldering the pressure they’re under.’
A Met Police spokesman ‘Police were made aware at around 1.45pm on Friday, March 30, that the Accident and Emergency unit at Barnet Hospital had been closed as a precaution after a patient attended having come into contact with an irritant substance.
‘The patient is believed to have come into contact with the substance elsewhere. Not on hospital grounds.
‘Police and London Fire Brigade are on scene.’
Earlier in the day, two miles from the hospital, South Mimms Service Station was closed following a chemical spill in the car park.
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hertfordshire Constabulary were called, it is not yet known if the two incidents are related.