\u00ab\u00a0Significant\u00a0\u00bb IT issues at services across the Southern Health Trust will continue into Thursday with the majority of planned surgery and out-patient hospital appointments being cancelled.<\/p>\n
A major incident is still ongoing at sites, including Craigavon and Daisy Hill hospitals, as ambulances are being diverted while work continues to resolve the problems, the trust said.<\/p>\n
Patients were warned not to come to appointments at any hospital or community service in the trust’s area on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
One patient at Daisy Hill hospital said she is \u00ab\u00a0devastated\u00a0\u00bb that she can not get an operation she has been waiting nearly a year for.<\/p>\n
Priority is being given to emergency and critically ill patients.<\/p>\n
In a statement the trust said planned surgery and out-patient hospital appointments will be rescheduled as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
Nicola Burns was taking her son Lorc\u00e1n to Daisy Hill to get a cast removed after falling off his bike.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We had an appointment for an x-ray in the fracture clinic, turned up here and told it’s been cancelled, bit disappointing to get him out of school, now we have to home again,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Burns said they had \u00ab\u00a0no idea of the problem\u00a0\u00bb until they were there.<\/p>\n
She said: \u00ab\u00a0We kind of knew straight away, the waiting room was empty. It’s a hassle he’s got out of school, and I’ve left work.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Lorc\u00e1n said \u00ab\u00a0I don’t mind\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
His cast has been on for four weeks, Ms Burns said: \u00ab\u00a0We were hoping he was going to get word of getting it off, now we don’t know. We’ve to come back next week.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Elaine Agnew’s operation was planned for Wednesday and she has been waiting since November.<\/p>\n
She told BBC News NI she has no idea when it will be rescheduled.<\/p>\n
Mrs Agnew said she’s \u00ab\u00a0devastated\u00a0\u00bb but \u00ab\u00a0what can I do,\u00a0\u00bb despite the disruption she said staff at the hospital have been \u00ab\u00a0brilliant\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Gerard Lennon was told he cannot leave Daisy Hill until he gets the results of a blood test, which have been delayed by the IT issues.<\/p>\n
He said he has not been told how long he will have to wait.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I know I’m probably in for a long wait but I don’t mind. It was either here or Dundonald and there were 140 people waiting when I was there this morning.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The trust covers a number of hospitals and care centres across counties Tyrone, Armagh and Down.<\/p>\n
It includes South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon, Craigavon Area Hospital, Lurgan Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital in Armagh and Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.<\/p>\n
The trust have told BBC News NI the issue will run into Thursday, while the vast majority of community services and mental health domiciliary care will operate as normal.<\/p>\n
However acute sites will be impacted with outpatient and planned surgery having to be cancelled and rescheduled.<\/p>\n
People have also been asked to avoid coming to its hospitals and other sites, but patient visiting is still possible.<\/p>\n
The British Medical Association’s Northern Ireland Council deputy chair, Dr Clodagh Corrigan said: \u00ab\u00a0Today’s events will inevitably impact waiting lists and is yet another clear indication of the dire need for investment.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
She said staff are \u00ab\u00a0trying their best\u00a0\u00bb to deliver safe and effective care in \u00ab\u00a0circumstances entirely outside of their control\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
SDLP MLA Justin McNulty said there was \u00ab\u00a0real worry and distress\u00a0\u00bb for a large number of patients.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s important that we work to understand how this has happened and ensure systems are put in place to prevent a repeat in future,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in MLA Linda Dillon said the IT problem is causing \u00ab\u00a0significant disruption\u00a0\u00bb to health services.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I urge local people to monitor the Southern Trust’s social media and the news for updates as this situation unfolds,\u00a0\u00bb she added.<\/p>\n
The deputy leader of the Alliance Party, E\u00f3in Tennyson said his thoughts are with \u00ab\u00a0patients, families, and staff who are under enormous pressure\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
He claimed: \u00ab\u00a0Alliance will be seeking assurances that everything possible is being done to restore systems quickly, protect patient safety, and prevent similar failures in future.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Colin McGrath, who sits on Stormont’s health committee, said that \u00ab\u00a0clear and consistent communication\u00a0\u00bb with the public was essential.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Patients should not be left feeling frightened or uncertain about their care,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Patients 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.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00ab\u00a0Significant\u00a0\u00bb IT issues at services across the Southern Health Trust will continue into Thursday with the majority of planned surgery and out-patient hospital appointments being cancelled. A major incident is still ongoing at sites, including Craigavon and Daisy Hill hospitals, as ambulances are being diverted while work continues to resolve the problems, the trust said. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}