Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation has suffered a severe IT breakdown causing it to cancel some patient appointments.
The problems have persisted for days after they first became apparent, according to the latest information.
The trust has published a statement on its website saying it has suffered “serious IT problems” on its sites and is working to fix them; and telling people only to attend its adult emergency department if advised by a GP or the NHS 111 service.
A spokesperson for the trust said it was not ready to comment the cause of the breakdown as the situation is still being assessed, but a report in The Guardian says sources have attributed it to a failure in the air conditioning units in its data centres during last week’s heatwave.
It is understood that some outpatient appointments have been cancelled, but the statement tells patients who have not heard from the trust to attend, but to bring along any relevant letters or paperwork.
The report also says clinicians have lost access to patient information systems, although the trust declined to comment on the details.
