THE trust in charge of Basingstoke and Andover hospitals has warned that ‘technical issues’ are causing long delays for some patients in its emergency departments.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Winchester hospital, said it is working “incredibly hard” to resolve the issues, but urged patients to consider “alternative ways to access medical care” until the problem is resolved.

It is understood that the problems are part of the wider issues affecting much of Basingstoke, with thousands of people having lost internet and phone connectections. 

Read more: Thousands impacted by phone and internet outage in Basingstoke

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Posting the message to its Facebook page this morning, the trust said there are “high levels of demand” in its emergency departments, particularly at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, in Winchester.

The trust said it is continuing to “care for everyone who needs our help”, but added: “If you attend one of our emergency departments for a non-life threatening condition, you may experience long waiting times to be seen.”

Dr. Lara Alloway, chief medical officer at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Since late yesterday afternoon we have been experiencing significant IT issues in our Andover War Memorial Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital sites, arising from offsite construction work impacting fibre optic cables.

“Our contingency plans have been activated and we continue to operate safely but all our services are under severe pressure across all our hospital sites.

“We are asking you only to attend our emergency departments if the care you need is urgent. If you attend one of our emergency departments for non-life threatening conditions, you will experience a long wait to be seen.

“Please continue to attend appointments and all other NHS services as normal unless you are contacted directly. Further updates will be issued as more information becomes available.”

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