Peterborough Hospital has power cut during Rowan Atkinson stay - BBC News

6 August 2011 Last updated at 10:38 ET

The new £289m hospital which treated comedian Rowan Atkinson after his car accident suffered a major power failure while he was a patient.

Atkinson was taken to Peterborough Hospital after he crashed his McLaren F1 supercar into a tree on Thursday night. He was discharged on Friday.

Power went out at the hospital at about 2215 BST on Thursday and a back-up generator failed to operate properly.

The hospital said it could not say why the back-up generator failed.

The emergency department blacked out as were the operating theatres, along with the maternity and critical care units.

Power was restored at 0230 BST on Friday.

'Major incident'

Four operations due to take place on Friday morning were cancelled while safety checks were carried out.

In a statement, a spokesman for hospital, which was built under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme, said: "A major incident was declared and the action plan was initiated.

"Patient safety remained a priority at all times and patient care was not compromised in any way."

Atkinson, 56, who suffered a shoulder injury in the crash, was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon.