Ambulance ban and patient services affected after hospital computer system failure

MONTREAL – A Montreal hospital had to turn away ambulances and patients on Thursday after a server malfunction shut the computer system down.

“The server and computer system room at the Jewish General Hospital overheated and subsequently all systems went offline at approximately 7:30 a.m.,” the hospital confirmed in a statement.

The computer system failure affected many patient-related services, including the hospital’s test centre, elective medical imaging services such as X-ray and CT scans.

An ambulance ban was also put in place until later in the afternoon on Thursday.

“The hospital is doing its best to minimize inconveniences for its patients and visitors . . . there has been absolutely no compromise to patient safety.”

The hospital also noted that all elective medical imaging appointments that were cancelled  due to the shutdown would be recouped over the next three weekends.

Repairs to the computer server and system are underway, and according to recent updates, the hospital hopes repairs will be completed by 7 p.m.