Employees at two hospitals within the south west of England have resorted to utilizing paper after a significant IT incident simply days earlier than the deliberate resident docs’ strikes.
Cheltenham and Gloucester NHS Basis Belief reported on its web site that it suffered an IT outage on 22 July 2025, as the results of a server problem.
The outage has induced additional disruption, because the belief introduced that it’ll cut back A&E companies in preparation for the five-day resident physician strike over pay disputes, deliberate from 25 July to 30 July.
In a press release, revealed on 23 July, the belief stated: “We proceed to expertise disruption to a few of our IT methods following the incident yesterday.
“We will verify that this disruption has been the results of a server problem and isn’t a cyber incident.
“Whereas some companies have been restored, others stay intermittently affected and that is anticipated to proceed all through the day.
“Our groups are working onerous to completely restore methods and minimise any impression on affected person care.
“We’re prioritising security and have well-established contingency plans in place to assist our companies.”
Based on a report in The Impartial, the belief diverted coronary heart assault sufferers to the encircling Bristol hospital, which has since been stood down.
Employees have additionally been requested to make use of another quantity for emergencies as phone extensions are impacted.
Hundreds of resident docs throughout England are anticipated to stroll out within the twelfth strike from resident docs since March 2023, leading to 49 days of disruption to NHS companies.
The British Medical Affiliation is demanding a pay uplift of 26% (backdated to April 2025) for resident docs to revive the total worth of their salaries to the extent they had been at in 2008.
NHS England stated in a press launch that it has requested hospital chief executives to maintain routine operations going to the fullest extent doable throughout this spherical of strikes and solely reschedule appointments and different exercise in distinctive circumstances to safeguard affected person security.
The NHS is subsequently advising the general public to proceed to attend any deliberate appointments they’ve scheduled over the strike interval until they’ve been contacted to reschedule
Professor Meghana Pandit, nationwide medical director at NHSE, stated: “There isn’t any doubt this industrial motion will take a toll on sufferers and NHS workers, and it’s disappointing it’s going forward.
“Whereas it is going to imply some appointments gained’t be capable of go forward as deliberate, we’re doing all we are able to to restrict this, and sufferers ought to proceed to make use of NHS companies within the traditional manner.”
Since strikes started on the finish of 2022, the cumulative complete of hospital appointments rescheduled is now 1,486,258 throughout the NHS.
The earlier spherical of business motion by resident docs on the finish of June 2024 noticed 61,989 inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled, and 23,001 workers had been absent from work resulting from strikes on the peak of the motion.
Nevertheless some resident docs in London had been permitted to interrupt the strike to help at websites affected by the cyber assault on pathology system supplier Synnovis, on 3 June 2024.
