Monday 5 October 2026
 11.3°C   W Strong Breeze
Health /

Hospital and health centres connected again after fault

Photo: Shetland News

NHS Shetland says phone lines and broadband connections are working again in the Gilbert Bain Hospital and local health centres after the telecoms outage across the isles today (Thursday).

A spokesperson said anyone needing to contact the hospital should phone 01595 743000 and not the emergency number advised earlier.

Health centres can also be contacted on the usual telephone numbers and NHS24 on 111.

The health board said that due to the disruption some services have backlogs.

In particular, there may be some short delays in obtaining new and repeat prescriptions due to stock ordering problems caused by the broadband outage.

Director of nursing and acute services Kathleen Carolan said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff who have made sure that we could continue to provide essential services today, and to thank the community for being patient and supportive whilst we have worked through these problems.

“We expect that it will take us several days to manage the backlog of work so we really appreciate everyone’s ongoing support whilst we fully resume services. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as needed”.

NHS Shetland remains on a major incident footing in response to the telecommunications outage caused by a break in the subsea link between the isles and the Scottish mainland.

Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone

Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.

Become a member
 
Categories
Advertisement 

Sign up for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Interested in Notifications?

You can install the Shetland News app on your device, simply tap and then 'Add to Home Screen'.

Loading the app will allow you to accept notifications.

Help keep Shetland’s news open to everyone

Good local journalism takes time, care and people on the ground. Membership helps us keep reporting the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read. Members get a weekly newsletter created especially for them, local ads only, and can bookmark stories and join the conversation in the comments.

Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone

Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.

Become a member