29 Jan 2026
Staff cuts to blame for massive hosptial IT outage, union says
Staff cuts are to blame for a massive IT outage at hospitals in Auckland and Northland according to a union. The Public Service Association says its members had to resort to paper systems and white boards overnight Wednesday after it says an outage took down Emergency Department, laboratory and in patient systems. Health New Zealand says hospitals and emergency departments remained open and patient care continued safely during the incident. The PSA says the latest failure is a direct result of cuts to Health New Zealand's digital team. PSA national Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons spoke to Lisa Owen.