A female patient, aged 75, has now been arrested by the police on suspicion of aggravated arson. She is believed to have set fire to her hospital bed.
– Fire in a hospital with plenty of patients is the worst thing you can imagine, as everyone knows, fire can spread quickly, says hospital manager Thomas Wallén.
Helsingborg Hospital was immediately put into disaster mode, extra staff were called in and ambulances were diverted for a few hours.
"I am impressed by my staff who during the night, when we are at our least staffed, did exactly what was expected of them," says Thomas Wallén.
Seriously ill patients had to be moved
A few surgeries have had to be cancelled during the day, but otherwise the care is being conducted as usual.
No one was injured, even though there were really sick patients who were inside the affected ward MAVA, and who themselves could not get away from the smoke. They were quickly transferred to the emergency room, which was already burdened by many patients.
"But we were lucky, before the summer we emptied a ward, so after ensuring that it was properly equipped, all patients could now be transferred there," says Thomas Wallén.
It is unclear when the smoke-damaged premises can be put back into use, the hope is that it can be done already during the day.