By Carmel Robinson

Copyright northernirelandworld

Several concerned patients said they were very upset that their treatment or surgery was cancelled at short notice by the Trust following what has been described as ‘IT issues’. – – However this morning the Trust has set up a new helpline for patients whose appointments or surgery has been postponed as a result of the IT issues. Lines will be open until 8pm this evening. Tel 028 3756 0009. With most out-patient hospital appointments and surgery within the Trust still cancelled today (Thursday) following the IT system outage, some patients are concerned that they will be left even longer to wait for treatment. The situation began on Wednesday when the Trust issues a statement saying the IT system had been ‘disrupted’ and this led to led to ambulances diverted away from Craigavon Area Hospital and Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. The Trust has been keen to stress they don’t believe the IT issue ‘cyber related’ and it appears staff couldn’t access the systems they normally use. In a BBC interview the Southern Trust’s Medical Director, Stephen Austin, revealed that the trust’s data centre and back-up data centre had both failed. “It’s very, very rare for both to go down,” he said. “But the important thing is we have put in place plans to make sure that we provide safe care for the patients that we have under our roof already and that’s what we did.” However some patients are extremely concerned. One Co Armagh woman shared her frustration that her sister’s proposed cancer surgery had been cancelled for a second time by the Trust. Another patient who was due to start cancer treatment has also raised concerns for his wellbeing and how this might affect his cancer spreading. Dr Austin said the issues were ‘purely technical’ and they had been working with ‘external partners to resolve’. “It has been resolved and we are stepping up to full service again over the course of the next few hours this morning. “We’re just making sure we’re bringing it back in a phased controlled manner so that it’s entirely stable. “Appointments will be done as soon as possible depending on patients’ particular needs.” In their latest statement the Trust said: “We can confirm that the IT issues which have caused disruption to our services today have been resolved and all systems have been restored. “We will be testing our systems overnight and they will be reconnected in a phased manner tomorrow (Thursday). “Whilst community services are expected to operate as normal tomorrow, unfortunately, most planned surgeries and out-patient hospital appointments remain cancelled. “Staff have contacted affected patients, and we will reschedule all appointments and surgery as soon as possible. “The ambulance divert has now been stood down for Daisy Hill Hospital, however Craigavon Area Hospital remains under significant pressure, therefore a divert will remain in place until later this evening (Wednesday). “We are hugely grateful for the support of NIAS, other Trusts and the wider HSC system who have been supporting us throughout the day. “It will take some time for normal business to be fully restored, and we sincerely apologise once again for the disruption. “We ask that people avoid coming to our Emergency Departments unless absolutely necessary as we continue to prioritise critical care at this time.”