The Southern Trust has confirmed that widespread disruption to its services will continue into Thursday as engineers work to resolve ongoing IT system issues.
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, the Trust said it is “continuing to experience significant issues” which are having an impact on both hospital and community services.
While community services are expected to operate as normal tomorrow (Thursday), the majority of planned surgery and outpatient appointments across hospitals have been cancelled.
These will be rescheduled “as soon as possible”, the Trust has said.
Patients are being urged not to attend Emergency Departments unless absolutely necessary, as pressures remain high while staff attempt to manage the disruption.
A spokesperson said: “The Trust is continuing to experience significant issues with our IT systems which are having an impact on our services.
“Work by engineers to resolve these complex issues is ongoing but disruption to services is likely to continue for some time.
“Community services are expected to operate as normal tomorrow (Thursday).
“Unfortunately, the majority of planned surgery and out-patient hospital appointments are being cancelled tomorrow. These will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
“We ask that people avoid coming to our Emergency Departments unless absolutely necessary.
“We apologise for any disruption. Staff are working hard to resume services as soon as possible. Further updates will be provided in due course.”
The announcement follows an earlier warning from the Trust, when patients were told not to attend any hospital or community service appointments due to what were described as “significant issues” with its IT systems.
Ambulance diverts have been put in place as a precaution, with emergency and critically ill patients prioritised.
Visiting patients in hospital is still permitted.
TUV Cusher councillor Keith Ratcliffe said: “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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Contingency planning — review and strengthen backup systems so that in future, essential healthcare services and emergency care are insulated from IT failures.
4. Accountability — we need assurance that future failures of this magnitude will have consequences and that lessons learned will lead to system-wide improvements.
5. 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 patience 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 which will be tabled later today.”
