THE MATER UNIVERSITY Hospital has appealed to the public to avoid its emergency department where possible, due to a systems problem that has resulted in the hospital unable to access patients’ Electronic Health Records.

The IT issue means that patients who present to the emergency department with non-urgent conditions are likely to face lengthy wait times, a spokeswoman for the Mater said. 

The Mater’s Rapid Injury Clinic in Smithfield has also been impacted and is currently closed.

The hospital has advised patients with non-emergency conditions to seek assistance from other minor injury units or their GP, but said that any patient in need of emergency hospital care will be seen.

“The Mater would urge such patients not to delay and to seek such care,” the spokeswoman said.

All other outpatient appoints are unaffected at this time and patients should attend as anticipated, she confirmed, and said that “the hospital is doing everything it can to rectify the issue as quickly as possible.”