Patients are being asked to avoid the Queen’s Medical Centre’s emergency department while a new computer system is installed.
Hospital managers say people should make an extra effort to only attend if they have genuine emergencies during this weekend’s upgrade.
The current system used in the emergency department to register patients and track their treatment, known as EDIS, will be replaced.
Work will start on Friday and continue until Sunday and mean staff will have to organise and track treatment on paper for a period of time.
The upgraded software will integrate with the hospitals exisiting IT administration systems. Bosses say it will allow doctors and nurses to spend more time treating patients.
Amber Bristow, the department’s head of service, said: “This is the first time since 2004 that we have introduced a new IT system into the department. Until it is switched on our doctors and nurses will be working on a paper-based system for more than 14 hours.
“While every effort has been made to keep disruption to a minimum, patients who attend this weekend may experience longer waits than usual.
“The best way to avoid long waits is to only attend the department in a real emergency. Please consider walk-in centres and minor injury units or the 111 phone number and pharmacies for minor injuries or illness advice.”
The old IT system will be switched off at 10pm on Friday, August 12 with the new system going live at 11.15am on Saturday, August 13.
The emergency department is one of the biggest and busiest in Europe, treating an average of 528 patients a day.
