IT issues affecting patient services in the Southern Health Trust

PATIENT services across the Southern Health Trust are being affected by significant IT issues, with patients being advised not to attend appointments at any hospital or community service within the trust area.

The trust covers multiple hospitals and care centres across counties Tyrone, Armagh, and Down, including South Tyrone Hospital (Dungannon), Craigavon Area Hospital, Lurgan Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital (Armagh), and Daisy Hill Hospital (Newry).

Ambulance services are being diverted, while the trust works to resolve the problems. Priority is being given to emergency and critically ill patients.

A spokesperson for the Southern Trust said, “The Trust is currently experiencing significant issues with our IT systems, which are impacting our services. Ambulance diversions have been put in place while we continue to investigate and resolve these issues.

“We are prioritising emergency and critically ill patients at this time. Any other patients should not attend their appointments at hospitals or community services until further notice. We ask that people avoid coming to our sites, although visiting a patient is still possible. Further updates will be provided in due course.”

Commenting on the disruption, Sinn Féin’s Mid Ulster MLA Linda Dillon said, “I have been in contact with the Trust, who are advising patients with pre-scheduled appointments not to attend due to these IT issues.

“The Southern Trust continues to prioritise emergencies and critically ill patients, and anyone with an emergency should still attend hospital.

“This is causing significant disruption to health services, and I urge local residents to monitor the Southern Trust’s social media channels and the news for updates as the situation develops.”