East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has declared a critical incident after an ongoing IT problem affected some of its services, the trust confirmed on 31 July.
What the trust is asking the public to do
To reduce pressure on emergency departments while technical teams work to identify and fix the fault, the trust is advising people with non-life-threatening conditions to use other local options rather than attend accident and emergency departments.
- NHS 111 for urgent clinical advice
- Your GP for problems that can be handled in primary care
- Local pharmacies for minor ailments and medicines advice
- Urgent treatment centres for injuries or illnesses that need prompt attention but are not life-threatening
The trust emphasised that people should continue to attend emergency departments only for life-threatening illnesses or injuries. Patients with planned procedures and appointments have been told to assume those will go ahead unless contacted directly by the trust.
Trust response and staffing
Trust officials said IT teams are working to determine the cause of the outage and to restore full service as quickly as possible. The trust is coordinating its response with partners across the local health and care system, including GPs and primary care providers.
“Our teams continue to work incredibly hard in exceptionally busy conditions to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality and compassionate care. The pressure on our urgent and emergency services is extremely high, and we are focused on supporting patients who need us most.”
The comment was given by Sarah Hayes, the trust’s chief nursing and midwifery officer.
Context and additional advice
The trust’s advisory note also arrives during current heat health alerts; residents are urged to take the usual precautions to protect themselves and vulnerable neighbours, and to keep in touch with local services if they need help.
The statement referenced wider concerns about cyber security in public services; the Department for Education this week confirmed a data breach affecting an external-facing helpdesk in which more than 607,000 records were stolen, an attack a threat group called ExfilSquad has claimed responsibility for.
| Service | When to use |
|---|---|
| NHS 111 | Urgent clinical advice when unsure where to go |
| GP | Non-urgent medical problems and routine care |
| Local pharmacy | Minor ailments and medicines advice |
| Urgent treatment centre | Prompt care for non-life-threatening injuries/illnesses |
Patients and carers in east Kent should monitor communications from the trust about appointments and follow the alternative access routes suggested until the IT problem is resolved. The trust has not given a timescale for restoring all affected systems.
Further updates are expected from East Kent Hospitals as investigations and repair work continue.
