Trust declares a critical incident as system fails

A TYNESIDE NHS trust has declared a critical incident after the failure of an IT system that is “fundamental to the provision of safe patient care”.

- SAM VOLPE Health Reporter

The Gateshead Health NHS Trust has warned patients to expect delays, while said patients who had ongoing appointments would be contacted if cancellation was necessary. Declaring a critical incident is formal step that allows health bosses to be clear about the action needed to resolve the issue.

The system that has broken allows staff to view the images produced by vital scans such as X-rays. One of the services particularly impacted is breast screening - with bosses saying that service has been “paused for some appointments”.