August 1, 2006

NHS IT system online after crash

by Brian Turner

The NHS IT service, which cost billions of pounds, is finally coming back online after a major crash over the weekend.

The computer crash left around 80 NHS Trusts unable to access patients records, including appointments, until today, and around 60 are still to be re-connected later on.

The problem affected trusts in Birmingham and the Black Country, Cheshire and Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Shropshire and Staffordshire and the southern part of the West Midlands.

The crash comes as an embarrassment to an already heavily criticised system, which despite being lauded as a worthwhile IT project, has been beset by cost and running problems.

Asserted by operater CSC as a “storage area network equipment failure”, it underlines the key problem of over-reliance on computer systems, which can be vulnerable to such failures.

Questions? Discuss this in our Internet Business forums for help and advice

Story link: NHS IT system online after crash

Add to Bookmarks: