IT outage hits health and care services

Today (19th July 2024) has seen various IT issues and outages around the world, including in the UK, and this is affecting some health and care services.

NHS England have issued a statement to explain the impact and how patients and the public may be affected, and Healthwatch are sharing it on their behalf. Details are set out below.

An NHS spokesperson said:

“The NHS is aware of a global IT outage and an issue with EMIS, an appointment and patient record system, which is causing disruption in the majority of GP practices.

“The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact your GP.

“There is currently no known impact on 999 or emergency services, so people should use these services as they usually would.

“Patients should attend appointments unless told otherwise. Only contact your GP if it’s urgent, and otherwise please use 111 online or call 111.”