Microsoft outage disrupts NHS, police and schools: what it means for you

A global Microsoft outage has disrupted hospitals, GP surgeries, police forces and schools across the UK, the Guardian and the Independent reported. Staff were unable to use email and other systems, and the public has been asked to use the telephone to reach services such as police and pharmacies.

The problems began late on Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning, Microsoft said it was seeing "early signs of stabilisation", while NHS staff arriving at work still reported being unable to access email.

What it means for patients and prescriptions

NHS sources told the Guardian that disruption was widespread and serious, with staff unable to use email and IT systems they rely on to deliver care. Some staff could still use Microsoft Teams on their phones, but meetings were being cancelled across the board. Some NHS organisations apologised on social media and urged patients to phone rather than email.

The picture differs between providers. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said its teams could not send or receive emails but that services were running as usual and procedures were going ahead. Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said its clinical systems were not affected and that patients should attend appointments as normal. Sir Ciarán Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, said it appeared that all clinical and operational systems were working.

The National Pharmacy Association said the disruption affected access to NHS email systems and pharmacies' ability to communicate with GP practices and some patients. It asked people to be patient, warning that waits may be longer than normal and some prescriptions could be delayed. Pharmacy sources told the Guardian the impact on waiting times for medicines was significant.

The GMB union's national secretary, Rachel Harrison, said the outage was having a serious effect across ambulance and NHS trusts. She said staff in 999 and 111 services could not refer patient details in the normal way, creating a large backlog, although emergency and life-threatening callouts appeared to be unaffected.

What it means if you need to contact the police

Several forces said online contact was affected. The Independent reported that the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police, North Yorkshire Police, Hertfordshire Police and Dorset Police were among those warning that online submissions might not arrive. The Met said that if a report is time-critical but not an emergency, people should call 101, and in an emergency 999. South Wales Police and Dyfed-Powys Police gave similar guidance for non-urgent matters.

The Guardian said the Metropolitan, Northampton, Hertfordshire, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Dorset forces all reported that their systems were affected. Access to Microsoft products used by MPs was also down, according to a parliamentary spokesperson.

Schools and universities

Schools and universities were unable to access email. In Northern Ireland, the Education Authority said Outlook was unavailable to schools and the authority itself, so emails could not be sent or received, and that updates would follow during the day.

What caused it and when it will be fixed

Microsoft executive vice-president Charles Lamanna said the outage did not appear to be the result of a cyber-attack, and security experts quoted by the Independent said it looked like a mistake by Microsoft. On its status page, the company said it was seeing positive results for server stability after applying a patch to an upstream authentication and routing component on part of its infrastructure, and was working to extend it to more servers. It said it knew of no malicious activity and would publish a post-incident report on the root cause.

Defence minister Luke Pollard said government engineers were working with Microsoft and warned that more people would likely be frustrated as the working day began. He said the episode showed the need for "greater resilience" against technology failures. The Welsh government said it was putting contingency plans in place.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Guardian, The Independent

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