Update as of 22/07/2024
An NHS spokesperson said: “Systems are now back online, and patients with an NHS appointment this week should continue to attend unless told not to.
“Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff throughout this incident we are hoping to keep further disruption to a minimum. There still may be some delays as services recover, particularly within pharmacies, so please bear with us.
“It’s important that patients attend appointments as normal unless told otherwise. You can contact your GP in the usual way, or use your local pharmacy, NHS 111 online or call 111 for urgent health advice.”
17/07/2024
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.
Practices in Dorset currently use an electronic record system that has not been affected by the reported IT issues, and we are not aware of any impact within the county. Therefore, we advise people to assume appointments will go ahead unless they are contacted by their practice.
Services in community pharmacies, including accessing prescriptions from GPs and medicine deliveries, are disrupted today. The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions.
Any further updates will be made as appropriate.
