NHS: Berkshire treatments being cancelled as health service network goes down

NHS workers are having to delay treatments after their network crashed, National World has learned.

An insider source at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has revealed that the trust's network has gone down due to a coding error, forcing appointments with patients to be delayed or postponed. The issue means staff cannot access NHS software or get onto the internet.

It's unknown exactly how many patient appointments have been affected at the time of publication. In the meantime, patients are being admitted and discharged with pen and paper.

The source told National World the situation is "not ideal" because just one day of cancellations creates a massive backlog for staff to clear. Some patient treatments, which were due to start next week, may also be delayed as a result. With the Christmas and new year holidays also in place, some patients already have gaps in their treatment plans.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has instructed people to use local pharmacies, GPs, NHS 111 and the Urgent Care Centre in Broad Street Mall, Reading, which is open from 08:00-20:00 GMT. People are also being urged not to visit A&E unless they are in a "life-threatening emergency".

National World has approached the NHS trust for further comment.