July 19th 2024.
The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust has recently announced a critical incident due to a major IT outage. In a statement on their website, they explained that this issue is affecting not only their services, but also other hospitals that rely on the same IT system, called Varian, for their radiotherapy treatments.
As the situation continues to unfold, the trust has taken the necessary steps to reschedule appointments for patients who were supposed to undergo radiotherapy this morning. They are actively working to resolve the issue and are hoping to have the systems up and running again as soon as possible. In the meantime, they have advised patients to attend their appointments unless otherwise instructed.
Unfortunately, this IT outage is not limited to just one hospital. Many NHS hospitals across England are also being affected, causing widespread disruptions in the booking of appointments and issuing of prescriptions. The issue seems to be with the EMIS Web system, which is used by a majority of GP practices in England. It is estimated that around 3,700 GP practices may be impacted by this global IT meltdown.
As a result, patients with minor ailments are being redirected to pharmacies from GP surgeries. According to Dr Leyla Hannbeck, the chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, there have been delays in receiving prescriptions and medicines due to the IT failures experienced by wholesalers. This has put a strain on pharmacies as they are now dealing with a higher volume of patients seeking treatment for minor ailments.
The NHS England has been closely monitoring the situation and has implemented contingency plans to manage the disruption. This includes the use of paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, as well as using traditional phone systems to communicate with GPs. They have also assured the public that there is no impact on 999 or emergency services, and people should use them as they normally would.
In the meantime, patients are advised to attend their appointments as scheduled, unless they are directly contacted by their GP. If it is not urgent, they are encouraged to use the 111 online service or call 111 for non-emergency situations. The NHS England has assured the public that they are doing everything they can to minimize the impact of this IT outage on patient care.
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