NHS Warns of Continued Disruption to GP Services Following Global IT Outage
The National Health Service (NHS) has issued a warning of “continued disruption” to GP services into next week due to a global IT outage. The outage, which occurred on Friday morning, affected many Microsoft Windows PCs after an update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused a “blue screen of death” to appear on screens. The company’s founder, however, confirmed that the outage was caused by a bug in the update and not a cyber attack.
NHS England reported that most of its systems were back online on Saturday afternoon, but were still running slower than usual. A spokesperson stated, “As practices recover from the loss of IT systems on Friday, there may be some continued disruption, particularly to GP services, in some areas into next week as practices work to rebook appointments.”
The outage also caused significant disruption to pharmacy services on Saturday. Nick Kaye, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, reported that most systems were back online and medicine deliveries had resumed in many community pharmacies. However, he also noted that the backlog caused by Friday’s outage may continue to cause disruptions this weekend as pharmacies work to recover. Kaye urged patients to be patient when visiting their local pharmacy, as they may still be prioritizing those with emergency prescriptions.
The global IT outage, which affected an estimated 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide, equated to less than 1%. However, experts have cautioned that it could take weeks for systems to fully recover and problems at airports were reported on Saturday.
Passengers at Palma de Mallorca airport reported lengthy delays and lost baggage, with one traveler stating that they had been waiting for over nine hours. TUI, the airline operator, issued an apology and stated that their IT systems remained unstable. They also acknowledged that many passengers were already at the airport waiting for their departure, causing disappointment and frustration.
At the Port of Dover, which was not affected by the IT outage, hundreds of displaced airport passengers were being accommodated. Doug Bannister, head of the Port of Dover, urged passengers to have a booking before arrival and stated that the port had the capacity to accommodate them.
The travel delays come as thousands of families are starting to embark on summer vacations, and the National Lottery app and website were also reported to be down on Saturday. It remains unclear if this was connected to the global IT outage.
In the midst of the chaos caused by the IT outage, indie rock group Bombay Bicycle Club announced the rescheduled date of a music festival performance they missed due to a cancelled flight. The British group, who were set to play at Poolbar Festival in Austria, will now perform on Sunday.
As the world continues to recover from this unprecedented IT outage, officials are urging patience and understanding as they work to resolve any remaining disruptions.
