Auckland and Northland hospitals experienced a second IT outage in less than a month on Thursday, disrupting the transfer of radiology images and raising concerns about the fragility of Latest Zealand’s public health IT infrastructure. While Health New Zealand maintains patient care was not compromised, the Public Service Association (PSA) warns the repeated failures set patient safety at risk and highlight chronic underfunding.
The outage, which lasted approximately two hours, affected the ability to transfer images like X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs between hospitals in the Auckland and Northland regions. Health New Zealand stated that standard backup processes were utilized during the disruption, and services were fully restored without impacting patient care. This incident follows a major IT failure in late January that forced clinicians to revert to pen and paper for 12 hours overnight, a situation the PSA described as deeply concerning.
The PSA’s national secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, characterized the latest outage as a “critical failure” exposing the vulnerability of hospital IT systems. “The picture archiving and communications system – PACS – impacted by the outage is a critical function of our hospitals which clinicians rely on to access images so they can assess and treat patients needing urgent treatment in EDs, in operating theatres and elsewhere,” Fitzsimons said. She emphasized that the disruption forces clinicians and radiographers to rely on less efficient communication methods, potentially slowing down treatment and compromising patient care.
Fitzsimons is calling on the government to immediately review funding for health digital services and IT infrastructure. “Does someone have to die before urgent action is taken? New Zealanders deserve better, One can’t afford to wait,” she stated. The PSA previously warned the government about the potential consequences of downsizing Health NZ’s digital services team, a move they claim contributed to the current instability.
Still, Health New Zealand disputes a direct link between staffing levels and the recent outages. Darren Douglass, acting chief information technology officer – digital services, told 1News last month that “all but one of the outages this month have been due to third party vendor issues.” He added that the organization operates a “very complex technology environment” with monitoring and support systems in place, and that strong backup plans ensured patient care continued safely during the disruptions.
Douglass also pointed to a 10-year Digital Investment Plan, approved by Cabinet in November, as a long-term solution to modernize the health system’s digital infrastructure. The plan aims to create a “modern, unified, and resilient digital health system,” but its implementation will take time. In the meantime, the PSA argues that immediate investment is needed to address the immediate risks posed by the aging and increasingly unreliable IT systems.
The recurring outages raise questions about the balance between long-term investment in modernization and the need for immediate maintenance and support of existing systems. The PSA contends that cuts to digital services expertise have exacerbated the problem, leaving hospitals vulnerable to preventable failures. The impact of these outages extends beyond simple inconvenience; they force clinicians to rely on slower, less efficient methods, potentially delaying diagnoses and treatments.
The current situation underscores the critical role of robust IT infrastructure in modern healthcare. The ability to quickly and accurately access medical images is essential for effective diagnosis and treatment, particularly in emergency situations. The repeated failures in Auckland and Northland serve as a stark reminder of the potential consequences of underinvestment in this vital area.
Health New Zealand has not provided a timeline for a comprehensive review of its IT infrastructure or a detailed plan to address the concerns raised by the PSA. The next scheduled update on the Digital Investment Plan is expected in the coming months, but the PSA is urging the government to take immediate action to prevent further disruptions and ensure patient safety.
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