Salisbury District Hospital declares internal critical incident

An internal critical incident has been declared at Salisbury District Hospital due to IT systems going down.

But we're reassured that the hospital remains open and safe.

As a result of the IT problems, we're told patients may experience delays in normal services, and they'll contact anyone who has an appointment that might be affected.

The issues have been happening through last night and into this morning, with the critical incident put in place at 7.40 today (Friday 18th March).

CEO of the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust Stacey Hunter said:

"Our IT team have been working through the night and continue to work today in order to fix the problems. I am grateful to everyone at the hospital who have worked so hard to maintain services under very difficult circumstances. The impact of using back up plans has meant that some services have seen onsite waiting times longer than normal. I am incredibly sorry for the disruption and thank patients for their tolerance and understanding."

To help reduce pressure on SDH while the problems are ongoing, we're asked to only attend A&E with life-threatening or serious injuries or conditions.

We can visit Salisbury's Walk-in Centre or call NHS 111 as alternative options.

For minor illnesses, we're advised to seek help from local community pharmacists.

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