Hardware fault disrupts Bern hospital group’s information system

A hardware problem temporarily knocked out the Insel Group’s information system on Wednesday evening, SRF reported. The Bern-based hospital group said patient safety was not compromised, and the outage was not connected to a worldwide IT failure.

The disruption began at about 8pm. The system links the group’s hospitals with patients, referring physicians and family doctors, so staff quickly noticed when it stopped working, spokesperson Olivier Dischoe told SRF.

Staff used pencils and paper overnight and followed emergency plans, while emergency departments remained open. The group said its employees are trained to handle such situations and medical care continued throughout.

The problem was fixed early on Thursday, allowing the system to resume at all locations. It continued to slow occasionally during the day, including when staff tried to upload documents and images, but the group later said operations were back to normal. The cause of the hardware problem is being investigated with the supplier.