RCGP comment on Microsoft outage

Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, President of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GP practices are continuing to provide care for patients despite the disruption caused by the Microsoft outage. We understand that the disruption is primarily affecting email communications, although there have also been reports of difficulties accessing some online consultation systems. The full extent of the impact is still being established. 

"Whilst the impact of this outage will vary across the country, we’re hearing that some practices are experiencing difficulties communicating with other NHS services, including communications relating to referrals, prescriptions and other aspects of patient care. This may lead to delays in arranging some follow-up care, especially as services work to clear the backlog caused by emails not getting through. It’s essential that appropriate contingency arrangements are available to ensure urgent clinical information is communicated safely and promptly. 

"GPs and our teams are doing what we can to minimise disruption and make sure patients continue to receive the care they need. It’s important that affected systems are restored as quickly as possible – and as they are, it’s equally important that GP teams, and colleagues across the NHS, are supported to address any backlogs in communication and clinical activity that have been created by this outage. This incident also highlights the importance of reliable, resilient digital infrastructure across the NHS, with robust contingency arrangements to protect patient safety when systems fail.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.