Normal GP service 'cannot be resumed immediately' after IT outage, health bosses say

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The British Medical Association has warned that normal GP service “cannot be resumed immediately” after the global IT outage caused a “considerable backlog”.

A Windows software update saw hospitals, GP surgeries, airports, and shops plunged into chaos after machines stopped working earlier this week.

Dr David Wrigley, deputy chairman of GPC England, the representative body for GPs at the BMA, said: “Friday was one the toughest single days in recent times for GPs across England.

Without a clinical IT system many were forced to return to pen and paper to be able to serve their patients. READ MORE: 'I tried the fry-up at the "beautiful" Greater Manchester spot named one of the region’s best' “While GPs and their teams worked hard to look after as many as they could, without access to the information they needed much of the work has had to be shifted into the coming week. “GPs have been pulling out all the stops this weekend to deal with the effects of Friday’s catastrophic loss of service and, as their IT systems come back online, we thank them and their staff for their hard work under exceptionally trying circumstances. “We also thank patients for bearing with general practice in this unprecedented situation.