Tuesday, November 5, 2024

GPs and pharmacies warn of lingering delays after global IT outage

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People visiting their GP and local pharmacy could still run into problems this week due to a backlog caused by the global IT outage.

An NHS England spokesperson said systems were back online but doctors might need to rebook appointments.

Patients are being advised to turn up unless they are told otherwise.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has said a “considerable backlog” remains and GPs will need time to catch up.

Surgeries were unable to access records and book appointments on Friday after their systems went down, resorting to paper and pen in many cases.

The IT failure caused problems for numerous industries, including healthcare and aviation – and experts have called it the worst computer meltdown ever.

The problems were triggered by a faulty Microsoft Windows update provided by security company CrowdStrike.

On Monday, an NHS spokesperson urged patients to “bear with us”, while a GPs’ organisation said doctors had been “pulling out all the stops” to fix things over the weekend.

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Global tech outage explained

Pharmacy services are also likely to be “slower than usual”, the National Pharmacy Association warned.

Its chairman Nick Kaye said many would be prioritising emergency prescriptions and dealing with increased demand.

The BMA has called the outage a “disaster” and said it would work with the health service and systems supplier EMIS to get a better back-up system.

The faulty update was a stark demonstration of how a glitch in the Microsoft systems used by millions around the world can impact people’s everyday lives.

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IT outage: ‘We slept in a cafe’

CrowdStrike boss George Kurtz said on Friday it could take “some time” for systems to be fully restored, while Microsoft suggested one potential fix was turning machines on and off again up to 15 times.

Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester airports were among UK hubs affected as hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled – thousands were affected globally.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said at the weekend that IT systems were back to normal but there could be some lingering delays.

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