Data Center Problem Slows UK Hospitals

Eight hospitals in the UK's National Health Service found themselves without access to patient records for several hours last week due to a data center failure, according to ComputerWorld UK, which elaborated on an earier report in The Sun. The problem initially affected Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk, and then went on to affect seven other NHS trusts. Sources said the hospitals were unable to access the central iSoft Lorenzo patient administration system until the evening, forcing a return to pen and paper and complicating administrative tasks.

The data center supporting the hospitals was operated by CSC, which declined to comment on the claims that there was a hardware fault, citing commercial confidentiality, but insisted no sensitive patient data was lost and "there was no impact to patient care." The NHS told Computerworld UK there was "no evidence of risk to patients."