PATIENTS are being urged to think about whether they need to use A&E services at Salisbury District Hospital today and over the weekend after a major IT outage. 

The trust says the hospital remains "open and safe" but asked the public to be "patient" and to avoid coming to A&E if possible. 

The hospital trust has had to go back to using its paper system which it says "takes more time". 

Chief Medical Officer Peter Collins said: "Yesterday evening the trust suffered a major IT outage which has affected the clinical systems that help us provide care to our patients.

"Our teams have been working really hard overnight to rectify this but we're still having to rely on our old paper systems to provide safe and effective care for patients as they come into our emergency department and our urgent care services.

"We are able to do this but it takes more time and we ask for your patience and thought about whether you really need to use our services today and over the weekend and really to bear with staff as they try hard to provide you with the care you expect and deserve."

Patients are asked to seek alternative appropriate treatment such as Salisbury Walk-in Clinic or to contact NHS 111 online or by phone.

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