Another Major IT Failure Again Exposes Govt’s Reckless Cuts To Health Digital Services- Time for Govt to admit fault and properly fund the upgrade of old IT systemsClinicians across hospitals in Auckland and Northland were forced to use paper-based systems and whiteboards overnight after another major IT outage in yet another warning sign for the Government with potentially deadly consequences for patients. The IT outage lasted more than 12 hours from late yesterday taking down all ED, laboratory and inpatient systems. The outage prevented clinicians accessing key patient information and communicating internally and across the region, slowing down decision-making on patient care. This follows outages at South Island hospitals earlier this month and the recent failure of the patient portal at Wellington Hospital. It's high time Health Minister Simeon Brown stopped making excuses and started properly funding the digital infrastructure our hospitals desperately need," said Fitzsimons.