Patients evacuated from Vic hospital fire

Staff and patients at a Melbourne private hospital have been evacuated after a fire in the switchboard sent smoke billowing through the building.

A fire in the Waverley Private Hospital switchboard at 8.50am on Tuesday sent smoke billowing through level one of the Mount Waverley building.

"We're evacuating," a staff member told AAP before hanging up the phone on Tuesday morning.

The fire is out and firefighters are now trying to clear the smoke from level one.

"We believe some patients have had to be moved to other levels," an MFB spokesman told AAP.