Debate contribution: Southern Trust: IT Outage
Debate contribution by Mr Mike Nesbitt on .
- MLA
- Mr Mike Nesbitt
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 22 September 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Questions for Urgent Oral Answer
- Heading
- Southern Trust: IT Outage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5123914
Read the official Assembly record
Text
In accordance with my written ministerial statement of 19 September, I reiterate that the Southern Health and Social Care Trust experienced an operational IT outage on the morning of 17 September. The issue was isolated to the Southern Trust, but, of course, it impacted across its sites. There is no suggestion that it was a cyber-related matter. The outage led to a loss of the computer network via two data centres, preventing access to key systems across the trust. The resultant impact necessitated the postponement of elective activity on 17 September and 18 September and the diversion of ambulances to other trust emergency departments (EDs) throughout 17 September. Community services were impacted to a lesser extent. Both of the data centres impacted were restored by 5.00 pm on 17 September, providing access, in the first instance, to priority systems — that is the labs, emergency departments, intensive care units (ICUs) and night medicines — and Daisy Hill Hospital and Craigavon Area Hospital then recommenced the receipt of ambulance arrivals at 9.00 pm and 10.30 pm respectively. The trust has commenced the rebooking of appointments in line with clinical prioritisation. My Department will support prompt rebooking via waiting list funding if required. Initial or verified data indicates that approximately 1,600 patients were impacted by postponements. It should be noted that there were no postponements beyond 17 and 18 September and that adult community clinics were not impacted during the major incident time frame. The major incident was formally stood down on the morning of 18 September. However, recovery efforts will continue for some time. Of course, I empathise with and sincerely apologise to all who were affected.
276 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.01 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.50 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.99 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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