South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust declares Critical Incident due to major IT issues

The South East Coast Ambulance Service declared a Critical Incident last night.

The NHS Foundation Trust - which serves Kent, Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex and part of north-eastern Hampshire around Aldershot, Farnborough, Fleet and Yateley - is urging the public to only call 999 in a 'serious emergency'. This is because of IT issues which have resulted in the loss of its Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.

In a statement issued on social media at around 9pm, the Ambulance Service said: "We have tonight (10 November) declared a Critical Incident following IT issues which resulted in the loss of our CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) and the need to move to our back-up telephone systems.

"While we are working hard with our IT providers to find a solution to the issue, and have implemented well-rehearsed contingency plans, the loss of the CAD, along with the high demand we are facing across our region tonight, is placing significant pressure on our services.

"We continue to answer calls and respond to patients but urge people to only call 999 in the event of a serious emergency and to make use of services, including NHS 111 Online, for help and advice.

"We would like to thank our staff and volunteers for their hard work and commitment at this challenging time and assure the public that we are doing everything we can to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

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Source: Kent Live, 10 November 2022