NHS staff 'getting sick because of slow IT systems'

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury Hospitals said it had a "serious issue" with its computer infrastructure.

The problem relates to two IT systems that were introduced relatively recently and are used by NHS organisations across the UK.

A root cause is not yet known, but the issue is slowing down day-to-day work and has resulted in some staff becoming ill.

Speaking at trust board meeting on Thursday, Mid Yorkshire's director of finance, Jane Hazelgrave, said: "In the payroll team it's soul destroying at the moment.

"You know that you can get up, make a cup of tea or coffee, come back and the issue will still be there. Nothing will have changed.

"We've got sickness within the team at the moment - it's actually making them ill."

It is believed hospitals' broadband connections have been ruled out as a potential cause, though the meeting was told that staff were logging on at home without any problems.

Adrian O'Malley, from trade union UNISON which represents a high number of NHS workers, said he believed the issues were widespready across the country.

He said: "I know there has been problems migrating from one system to another, and it's caused chaos.

"It's caused a lot of stress in the IT department as well as other departments. People have been going for two to three days without their emails and it's frustrating.

"It's a problem across the NHS at the moment, all these different areas going to new systems and they don't match up with one another.

"I don't think Mid Yorkshire's any worse or any better than anywhere else in the country."

Mark Braden, Mid Yorkshire's director of estates, facilities and IT, added: We are experiencing some speed performance issues with two of our cloud based

systems, and are working with the suppliers to understand why this is occurring and how we can rectify it."

Local Democracy Reporting Service