Auckland and Northland Hospitals Experience Second IT Outage in a Month
Auckland and Northland hospitals were impacted by a significant IT outage on Thursday, February 26, 2026, disrupting the transfer of radiology images for approximately two hours. This marks the second “critical failure” of hospital IT systems in the region in less than a month, raising concerns about underfunding and the fragility of digital infrastructure.
Disruption to Radiology Services
The outage affected the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), which is crucial for clinicians to access and review medical images such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. During the disruption, clinicians and radiographers were forced to rely on manual communication methods – text and phone – to share vital scan information, potentially slowing down treatment and compromising patient care. Health New Zealand stated the outage was resolved quickly and patient services were not affected, utilizing standard back-up processes for image review.
Union Raises Concerns Over Underfunding
The Public Service Association (PSA) has strongly criticized the recurring IT failures, attributing them to government underfunding of health digital services and IT infrastructure. Fleur Fitzsimons, the PSA’s national secretary, warned that patient safety is being set at risk. She questioned how many more failures would occur before urgent action is taken, stating, “New Zealanders deserve better, we can’t afford to wait.” 1News reported the PSA’s concerns.
Previous Outage and System Vulnerabilities
Last month, a major IT outage forced Auckland and Northland hospitals to revert to pen and paper for 12 hours overnight. The PSA highlighted that the recent outage exposes the fragility of the hospital IT systems. The impacted PACS system is a critical function relied upon by clinicians in emergency departments, operating theatres, and other areas requiring urgent treatment. Daily Telegraph NZ also covered the recent disruptions.
Health New Zealand Response
Health New Zealand maintains that there is “no link between IT outages in recent weeks and staffing numbers in the Digital Services team.” According to acting chief information technology officer – digital services Darren Douglass, most outages have been attributed to issues with third-party vendors. Health New Zealand has a 10-year Digital Investment Plan in place, approved by Cabinet, aimed at modernizing the digital health system while prioritizing patient safety and maintaining contingency plans for IT disruptions. 1News reported on this statement.