Fire damage assessed after blaze breaks out at hospital

A health board has promised to restore all services as quickly as possible after a fire broke out at a community hospital in the Borders.

Four fire crews were at the scene for about three hours after the alarm was raised just after 13:00 at the Knoll Hospital in Duns, which is already partially-closed due to the replacement of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac)

NHS Borders said all patients, staff and contractors who were on site were "safe and accounted for" with no reported injuries.

It said outpatient clinic services at the site would be disrupted while a full assessment of the building and any damage was carried out.

"Our teams are working to contact affected patients directly regarding their appointments," it said.

"We ask patients with outpatient clinic appointments not to attend the site unless they have been specifically advised to do so."

It said GP appointments at the nearby Merse Medical Practice would operate as normal on Thursday.

"The safety of our patients and staff remains our highest priority," it added.

"We appreciate the understanding and co-operation of our local community while we assess the situation and make arrangements to restore services as quickly as possible.

"A further update will be provided tomorrow afternoon."

The community hospital and health centre had to be shut and services moved elsewhere to allow "swift remedial action" to potentially dangerous concrete in January 2025.