IT experts are being 'brought in from abroad' to solve more than a week of chaos at four of Greater Manchester's biggest hospitals hamstrung by technical glitches, according to staff on the ground. The help is being flown in from the US, the Manchester Evening News understands.
The hospital trust marshalling the IT fixes - the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) - says it has made ‘some positive progress’ diagnosing and resolving the problems affecting the Royal Oldham, Fairfield General , Rochdale Infirmary , and North Manchester General . However, staff say that while some functions have been restored, there are still significant problems with all sorts of systems - including those used to look up test results, electronically prescribe medications and track patients as they move through the hospitals.
The IT issues have caused problems for nine days, having first started on May 18. NHS staff have said ‘thousands’ of patients are being affected by delays to care, including cancellations of appointments and surgeries.
