Optus crash: Horror stories emerge from doctors and carers due to massive network outage

Doctors and carers who were unable to call emergency services due to one of the largest Optus outages in Australian history.

The outage was first reported at 4am on Wednesday, with Optus mobile users saying they were unable to make or receive calls or texts, with internet and home broadband also down. breakdown.

Optus users in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, the ACT, Tasmania and Adelaide have all reported a network outage.

The Optus outage is also impacting the country’s medical system, with some staff unable to use the phone in life-threatening situations.

A caregiver said he was unable to call an ambulance for his patient who was suffering a heart attack.

“One of my patients had a cardiac arrest, I couldn’t call an ambulance,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday morning.

“I had to run down the street and borrow a phone from someone walking their dog.”

Optus customer and anesthetist Daniel said he was on call overnight for emergency operations when he noticed the network was down.

“I couldn’t make phone calls or use the internet,” Daniel told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Another Optus customer told 2GB radio his wife started panicking when she realized her phone wasn’t working.

“My wife is a specialist doctor and supervises kidney transplants… Panic set in when she realized her phone was out of service,” he said.

He added that she could not be reached due to the network outage.

The outage is also affecting communication with hospitals, with Sydney’s Westmead Private Hospital reporting their phone lines are down.

“Due to the national Optus outage, unfortunately all our phone lines are disconnected. To contact the hospital, please email us at admissions.WMP@ramsayhealth.com.au,” the hospital wrote on Facebook.

Austin Hospital, in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs, has confirmed its staff are unable to make external calls due to the Optus service outage.

“Austin Health is experiencing telecommunications issues that we believe are a result of the Optus outage,” an Austin Health spokesperson told the Guardian.

“We are currently unable to receive phone calls from external numbers, but our internal systems are working, meaning patient care is not affected.

Meanwhile, Melbourne’s Northern Health District said all phone lines on its hospital campuses had been affected.

“This includes phone lines to Northern Epping Hospital, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Craigieburn Centre, Kilmore District Hospital and the Victoria Virtual Emergency Department (VVED),” wrote the health district on Facebook.

‘Please apologize for any problems.’

A Melbourne woman said she was “worried” after her mother was admitted to Northern Hospital in Epping overnight and unable to make contact.

“I’m worried sick,” the woman told ABC Radio Melbourne. “I’m a little anxious and emotional, but I really don’t know what to do next.”

Melbourne’s rail network was also closed earlier on Wednesday, leaving many travelers stranded.

This is believed to be due to the Optus outage. Metro Trains has since confirmed services have resumed, but significant delays are expected.

Uber prices have also increased as many drivers are forced offline due to the Optus outage.

Other operators that use the Optus mobile network like Amaysim, Vaya, Aussie Broadband, Moose Mobile, Coles Mobile, Spintel, Southern Phone and Dodo Mobile are also down.

The Northern Melbourne Health District said phone lines at its hospitals had been affected.

“All Northern Health campus phone lines are currently affected by an Optus outage,” they said.

“This includes phone lines to Epping Northern Hospital, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Craigieburn Centre, Kilmore District Hospital and the Victoria Virtual Emergency Department (VVED). We apologize for any problems.’

The Westmead private hospital in Sydney is experiencing the same problem.

“Due to the national Optus outage, unfortunately all of our phone lines are cut. To contact the hospital, please email us regarding admissions,” the hospital said.

The telecommunications operator said it was aware of issues affecting some customers, but had not yet explained the system outage.

“Optus is aware of an issue that may impact some of our mobile and internet customers,” a spokesperson said.

“We are currently working to identify the cause and apologize for any inconvenience.

“In the event of an emergency, customers can always call 000.”

Pictured is Optus users reporting the network outage.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the company was yet to provide answers about what caused the outage.

EFTM technology expert Trevor Long said it was the “largest telecommunications outage” in Australia.

“The fact that mobile and home broadband are being cut at the same time means that if you are an Optus family, you are without communications this morning,” he said. 2 GB.

“There is literally no way to communicate if Optus is the only communication in your home on your home broadband and mobile phone, which would certainly account for a large portion of those customers.”

Mr Long said there had been little communication from Optus and said a potential hack would be something they were investigating.

The outage could also be due to a cable break, computer failure or an upgrade failure, the expert added.

Many Optus users have expressed their frustration online

Many Australian Optus subscribers have shared their frustration online, with some only able to make SOS calls.

“How is it possible that the entire country does not have #optus? I have no phone coverage at all,” one tweeted.

‘What’s happening with #Optus this morning. I woke up and the phone wasn’t working. No email or communication from the company either. Bad form,” said another.

“Cool, thanks to Optus, the second I leave the house today I will have no reception or data service on my phone. Hopefully no customers have emergencies today,” said another.

Optus has 10.2 million users across the country.