HOSPITAL chiefs issued a warning to staff after a fractured pipe cut water supplies and sparked frantic repair efforts.

Medics were forced to draw on a reserve of water after the pipe ruptured at just before 3pm yesterday at the Freeman Hospital, on Freeman Road, High Heaton, Newcastle.

Engineers desperately fought to locate the hole and patch up the problem so that patients were not affected by the leak.

Last night a spokesman for the hospital said the fractured pipe had forced units to draw on reserve water tanks while emergency services said they were pumping water into the hospital.

An email issued to staff asked them to refrain from using water “as much as possible without affecting patient care”.

It read: “To all wards and departments the hospital has lost its water supply due to a fractured pipe. Please restrain water use as much as possible without affecting patient care.

“Until the pipe is repaired the hospital can’t get replacement supplies. It is hoped to have the pipe fixed before midnight.”

Nine fire engines – carrying nearly 40 firefighters – were called to the hospital to pump water into a tank and ensure the hospital water tank did not run dry.

Last night a spokesman for the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed emergency services had been called to try to mend the problem.