NHS Sussex hospitals back to normal after IT issues - trust

A power outage caused significant IT issues at two hospitals in the south east on Sunday night

A critical incident has been lifted at two hospitals after patients were told not to attend the emergency departments unless it was a life saving emergency.

A power outage caused significant IT issues at the Royal Sussex in Brighton and Princess Royal in Haywards Heath on Sunday night.

Ambulances were diverted and patients taken to other hospitals.

Earlier, University Hospitals Sussex NHS trust said power had been restored and everything was "back to normal".

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, the chief medical officer at the trust, Professor Katie Urch, said the "very dramatic" incident was caused by a power outage in an IT room housed at Princess Royal hospital in Haywards Heath.

She said it took down all IT systems temporarily at both hospital sites at about 18:00 GMT.

"We had to request help from our partner agencies in the region. We did divert ambulances but that is all stood down now," she said.

Veteran foreign correspondent Malcolm Brabant was at the hospital and said it was "chaos"

Author and veteran foreign correspondent Malcolm Brabant was at the Royal Sussex visiting a relative with a "complicated heart and lung issue" when the system crashed.

"It was pandemonium," he told the BBC.

"The technicians were running around panicking, trying to fix it."

He questioned why there was not a back-up IT system in place.

He said: "Aeroplanes have back-up systems to make sure they don't fall out of the sky. Why, when you have a massive new hospital that cost £500m, do you not have a back-up system?

"Lives could be put at risk by this. It smacks of really bad planning and incompetence."

'Well rehearsed'

During the outage, anyone trying to contact the hospitals by phone to reach a loved one or the ward team was told they would be unable to do so.

Temporary maternity triage telephone numbers were also given out for use by birthing women and their families.

St Richard's Hospital in Chichester and Worthing Hospital were affected but to a lesser degree, the trust said.

Ms Urch said power was restored by 21:30 GMT on Sunday and all systems were back up within the hour.

She added: "Things like this are well rehearsed and well planned for. We immediately activate our continuity plans which means printing everything out on to paper, radios and back-up runners.

"The hospital can function, it is just slower."

The trust's chief operating officer, Andy Heeps, said it had avoided cancelling planned appointments and operations "thanks to the rapid response of everyone involved".

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