Two hurt as NHS staff bus leaves road

Five passengers on board, and two taken to hospital with minor injuries

Two people have been taken to hospital after a bus carrying NHS staff came off the road just outside Portsmouth.

The bus, which was carrying staff between the QA park and ride at Fort Southwick and the Hospital, came off the road on James Callaghan Drive shortly before 1.20pm.

Five people were on board at the time and two suffered minor injuries, an ambulance service spokesperson said.

Emergency services including the fire service and police were called out, and the road was shut for about two hours.

The bus was stablised before being removed. No other vehicles were involved.

The South Central Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We received a 999 call with the caller reporting that a single-decker bus had come off the road and hit a tree.

‘We sent an ambulance, a paramedic team leader in a rapid response vehicle and our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART). The bus had five people on board and was in an unstable position so our HART team worked with

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to stabilise it.

‘Two people on board had sustained minor injuries – one was treated at the scene by our staff but the second required further treatment at QA. The three other people on board were uninjured.’

Hampshire Constabulary said a road closure was put in place and one person suffered an ankle injury.

A spokesperson for FirstBus, which operates the park and ride service, said a team was sent out to recover the vehicle and to support the driver who was badly shaken.

The company will investigate the incident.