Significant disruption continues after Southern Trust IT outage

AN IT issue within the Southern Heath and Social Care Trust wrought havoc at local hospitals on Wednesday, with the effects still being felt.

An investigation has been launched following the outage - which is NOT thought to have been a cyber attack at this stage.

Ambulances were diverted from Craigavon and Daisy Hill during the incident and most planned surgeries and out-patient hospital appointments cancelled.

The issue was resolved on Wednesday night but the disruption caused is having a major knock on effect.

In statement on Wednesday night the Trust said, “We can confirm that the IT issues which have caused disruption to our services today have been resolved and all systems have been restored.”

They said they were testing their systems overnight on Wednesday and would be reconnected in a phased manner on Thursday.

The Trust added, “Whilst community services are expected to operate as normal [on Thursday], unfortunately, most planned surgeries and out-patient hospital appointments remain cancelled.

“Staff have contacted affected patients, and we will reschedule all appointments and surgery as soon as possible.”

The statement went on, “The ambulance divert has now been stood down for Daisy Hill Hospital, however Craigavon Area Hospital remains under significant pressure, therefore a divert will remain in place until later this evening. (Wednesday).”

The Trust expressed its gratitude for the support it had received from the NI Ambulance Service and from right across the health service, “We are hugely grateful for the support of NIAS, other Trusts and the wider HSC system who have been supporting us throughout the day.

“It will take some time for normal business to be fully restored, and we sincerely apologise once again for the disruption.

“We ask that people avoid coming to our Emergency Departments unless absolutely necessary as we continue to prioritise critical care at this time.

“The cause of the outage is still being investigated, however, there is nothing to indicate any cyber related issues.

“We would like to thank our staff who continue to do everything possible to keep every patient and service user safe as we work to recover from this outage.

The Southern Trust’s Medical Director, Stephen Austin, told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster the Trust’s data centre and back-up data centre had both failed.

“It’s very, very rare for both to go down,” he pointed out.

“But the important thing is we have put in place plans to make sure that we provide safe care for the patients that we have under our roof already and that’s what we did.”

He added the Trust was certain there had not been any kind of cyber attack, “This is a pure technical issue that we’ve been working with external partners to resolve.

“It has been resolved and we are stepping up to full service again over the course of the next few hours this morning.

“We’re just making sure we’re bringing it back in a phased controlled manner so that it's entirely stable.

“Appointments will be done as soon as possible depending on patients’ particular needs.”

SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA expressed his concern following the ‘serious disruption within local health services’.

Mr McGrath said: “While the details of what has happened will cause understandable concern, it is essential that the Trust work to reassure the public. Patients should not be left feeling frightened or uncertain about their care. Where appointments have been lost or delayed, the Trust must act quickly to ensure that these are rescheduled without undue wait.

“Clear and consistent communication with the public is essential. People deserve to know exactly what has happened, how it affects them, and what steps are being taken to put things right. That openness is the best way to maintain confidence in our health system.

“I will be raising this issue directly with the Health Minister to ensure that the necessary actions are taken swiftly and that this type of disruption is not repeated. Patients and families rely on our health service in times of greatest need, and they must be able to trust that it will be there for them when required.”

Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty said: “This IT outage creates chaos and concern for patients in Newry and right across the Southern Trust Area.

“People awaiting important treatments have had their appointments cancelled, while ambulances are being diverted. Naturally this is causing real worry and distress for those affected.

“In the midst of this turmoil I hope that people can remain calm as work goes on to resolve this issue.

“Large numbers of people have been impacted by this incident and it’s important that we work to understand how this has happened and ensure systems are put in place to prevent a repeat in future.”

TUV Cusher councillor Keith Ratcliffe also expressed his concern:

“I have been following today’s reports of a major IT systems failure affecting the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and its fallout with growing concern.

“The situation is both distressing and unacceptable. Those who rely on scheduled treatments, outpatient services, or community care deserve certainty and reliability — not chaos.

“The Health Minister and the management of the Southern Trust need to take the following actions immediately:

l Full transparency — publish what went wrong, which systems are impacted, how many patients and which services are affected, and a clear timeline for full recovery.

l Effective communication — ensure that every patient whose appointment has been cancelled or delayed is contacted, informed, and given a re-scheduled date in a timely manner.

l Contingency planning — review and strengthen backup systems so that in future, essential healthcare services and emergency care are insulated from IT failures.

l Accountability — we need assurance that future failures of this magnitude will have consequences and that lessons learned will lead to system-wide improvements.

l Support for staff — front line staff are under pressure in situations like this; they should get all support needed to manage delays, patient anxiety, and logistical challenges.

“I would ask the public to be patient and understanding. But patience should not be an excuse for complacency. The community has a right to demand that our public services are resilient, reliable and held to account when they fail.

“My colleague Timothy Gaston MLA will be raising this matter with the Health Minister through written questions.”

Diane Dodds, a DUP member of Stormont's health committee, said, “We really do have to worry about the resilience of our system if such a critical piece of healthcare infrastructure can go down in this kind of catastrophic way.

“I do think the health minister should come to the floor of the assembly and tell us about the resilience of the system

“Could this happen across a variety of different trusts at different times or at the same time?

“What is the back-up plan?”