Southern Health Trust to Address IT Outage Impact by October

The Southern Health Trust has announced that most patients affected by a recent IT system outage will receive their appointments by the end of October 2023. The disruption, which resulted in postponed appointments for numerous patients considered to have red flags, was declared a major incident on October 18, impacting facilities including Craigavon and Daisy Hill hospitals. Patients were advised not to attend scheduled appointments or community services during the outage.

Steve Spoerry, Chief Executive of the Southern Health Trust, informed the Stormont Health Committee that an investigation into the incident is currently underway. Spoerry expressed regret on behalf of the trust, emphasizing the importance of addressing the situation. He noted that the trust is actively rebooking appointments and is committed to learning from the incident to prevent future occurrences.

Despite efforts to reschedule, some routine reviews may not take place until January 21, 2026. Over the course of two days, more than 1,600 patients were affected, including those visiting the Emergency Department. Spoerry acknowledged that the outage not only disrupted patient care but also hindered the work of health professionals throughout the system.

Health officials from the Department of Health indicated that the electronic system is complex and estimated that it would require at least another three weeks to provide a comprehensive explanation of the outage’s cause. Preliminary assessments suggest it may have been triggered by a system upgrade.

Dr. Stephen Austin, the trust’s medical director, assured that no patient would be deprioritized on the waiting list due to the incident. He highlighted that the trust has identified capacity within the system and has organized additional clinics in the coming weeks. Dr. Austin stated that approximately 80% of red flag patients have already been rescheduled, with fewer than five patients remaining to be accommodated.

Officials clarified that the IT failure was not related to Encompass, Northern Ireland’s new electronic patient record system, but was instead due to issues within the Southern Trust’s IT network. The commitment to rectifying the situation remains a priority for the trust as they strive to restore normal operations and ensure patient care is not compromised moving forward.