Perth’s main maternity hospital has caused nurses and their patients to evacuate the building due to a fire.

About 200 patients, which includes newborn babies, pregnant women and women who had just given birth were moved out of King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco after a fire started at about 5:00pm (AWST)

The fire started in the pharmacy of the hospital’s basement and was extinguished an hour later.

Some of the patients were moved to other hospitals.