NHS patients turned away as Microsoft IT outages hit GP surgeries

An IT outage affecting Microsoft systems has caused significant disruptions in NHS services, particularly at GP surgeries in the UK. The outage has led to patients being turned away from routine appointments, with only emergency cases being seen. GP practices are struggling to access patient records, make referrals, and book tests or appointments at hospitals. This situation has the potential to create backlogs of patients needing care. Pharmacies are also affected, experiencing delays in providing medications due to issues with receiving prescriptions from GPs. Some hospitals have had to restrict certain types of care, such as radiotherapy treatments. The Royal Surrey NHS trust declared a critical incident due to the IT problems affecting their radiotherapy system. Patients like Sophie, undergoing chemotherapy, are facing uncertainties about their treatment schedules. NHS England is implementing measures like using paper records and handwritten prescriptions to manage the disruption. Pharmacies are urging patience from the public as they work to overcome drug supply challenges caused by the IT outage.