KPN outage affects access to several hospitals
Hospitals in Utrecht and Nijmegen report problems with their landline numbers.
A nationwide telephone outage at KPN is causing access problems at several hospitals on Saturday. UMC Utrecht and Radboudumc have published alternative contact options; the cause and end time of the outage are not yet known.
UMC Utrecht and Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis are temporarily unreachable via their usual telephone number, according to their own notice. The hospital directs people with an urgent question to an alternative number and stresses that people in an emergency should call 112. Mobile telephony is working, according to UMC Utrecht.
Radboudumc is also reporting problems. Calls to the hospital sometimes fail or a connection is established but staff cannot hear the caller. The Nijmegen hospital advises patients, where possible, to use a landline, send a message via the patient portal or use email.
The outage is nationwide and affects telephone systems used by hospitals. The public reports do not indicate that medical systems, patient records or internet connections at these hospitals have gone down. The available information specifically concerns telephone accessibility.
The situation does show how heavily healthcare institutions depend on telecommunications infrastructure for communication. Hospitals generally have emergency procedures and alternative numbers, but these are not always immediately known to patients and referrers. A nationwide overview of all affected institutions and the precise technical cause is not currently public.
KPN refers on its outage page to the usual check for current outages, but publishes no technical explanation for this incident in the information consulted. The hospitals say they will continue updating their own accessibility pages. Patients should therefore check their hospital’s website before calling.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Several hospitals are reporting telephone access problems due to a nationwide KPN outage.
- UMC Utrecht has published an alternative number and refers people to 112 in emergencies.
- The public reports provide no technical cause or nationwide list of affected institutions.
Left
Arguments Hospitals’ telecommunications connections are vital public infrastructure. The government should impose stricter requirements for redundancy and, if necessary, organise public capacity.
Values Equal access to healthcare, public responsibility and protection of vulnerable patients.
Consequences More backup systems cost money, but should prevent patients or healthcare providers from being cut off during outages.
Centre
Arguments Hospitals and telecommunications companies should demonstrably test emergency procedures; the government should supervise without managing every component itself.
Values Reliability, proportionality and feasibility.
Consequences Targeted standards and audits can increase resilience without making duplicate infrastructure compulsory everywhere.
Right
Arguments Healthcare institutions and telecommunications companies should remain responsible for continuity and contractual backups themselves. The government should mainly enforce clear minimum standards.
Values Self-responsibility, efficiency and limited government intervention.
Consequences Competition may encourage alternative providers and technical solutions, but smaller institutions may struggle to bear the additional costs.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core is based directly on reports from two hospitals. Unknown technical details have not been presented as facts.
- confirmed UMC Utrecht and Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis are temporarily unreachable via their usual number. — Reported by UMC Utrecht. source
- confirmed Radboudumc is reporting problems with incoming telephone calls. — Reported by Radboudumc on 10 October 2026. source
- confirmed The technical cause and end time are not public. — The KPN and hospital reports consulted contain no cause or resolution time. source
Editor's note
It is certain that several hospitals are reporting telephone problems. The technical cause, the full extent and the expected resolution time are absent from the public information.Sources
- Alternatief telefoonnummer vanwege storing KPN — UMC Utrecht
- Landelijke storing telefonie — Radboudumc
- Storingen bij KPN — KPN
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „kpn telefonie”
- de Volkskrant — „kpn telefonie”
- RTL Nieuws — „kpn telefonie”