PATIENTS have been evacuated after a faulty alarm triggered an emergency response at a hospital.
Wishaw General was evacuated around 4.40pm today.
Concerned visitors and patients took to social media, with some speculating there had been a major threat to the NHS Lanarkshire facility.
However police confirmed the evacuation was in response to a faulty alarm system which had gone off.
Not all patients had been cleared from the site, and everyone returned shortly after 5pm.
A police spokeswoman said: "Around 4.40pm on Tuesday 30 May 2017, officers from Police Scotland and other emergency services were alerted to an alarm activation at Wishaw General Hospital.
"Police officers attended and a search was carried out in conjunction with hospital security staff.
"The building was assessed as secure it was believed to be a system fault with the alarm.
"There was no impact on the health and safety of patients and normal hospital service resumed.
NHS Lanarkshire confirmed the incident was a 'false alarm'.
Calum Campbell, Chief Executive, NHS Lanarkshire, said: “At around 4.40pm, our alarm system at Wishaw General Hospital was triggered. Staff followed protocol, emergency services quickly attended and there was a partial evacuation of the building.
“Within the hour we had received confirmation that it was safe to re-enter the building and the hospital quickly returned to normal.
“We are investigating the cause of the alarm which is believed to be due to a fault with the system. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to patients and visitors and are pleased to report that there was no impact on the safety of patients as a result of this incident.”
Images on social media show nurses and doctors outside the facility run by NHS Lanarkshire with patients in beds also outside.
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