A reader has written to tell us he has been unable to get hold of urgent medication for his heart condition this weekend owing to an NHS computer failure, which appears to be affecting the whole country.
Did you know that the 111 NHS service has not had access to patients’ medical records for over 24 hours due to a computer failure?
I have been trying to deal with 111 all day because of my GP surgery’s failure to issue an urgent prescription (I have a heart condition) in time for the weekend and my medication has run out.
The correct protocol is to contact 111 to obtain an emergency prescription from a doctor on call, but since yesterday [Thursday] morning, nationwide (according to the doctor I spoke to), no one working for the 111 service has been able to access any patient records whatsoever. I just got another call back from the doctor who himself said it defies belief that this has happened and is amazed the press hasn’t picked up on it yet.
FYI the NHS is unable to issue any prescriptions for emergencies because of this, until it’s fixed, and I was told not to expect it to be up and running again until after the weekend by one of the doctors I spoke to.
I found a news report on this blaming it on a cyberattack – pretty worrying that it’s so easy to take out access to U.K. medical records and prevent Brits getting the medicine they need. The Independent reports:
People seeking medical help via the NHS 111 call line have been warned of delays after a cyberattack caused a “major” computer system outage, which may not be resolved until next week.
The “security issue” was first identified early on Thursday and is affecting an IT system called Adastra, which is used to refer patients for care – including ambulances being dispatched, out-of-hours appointment bookings and emergency prescriptions.
The system is used by 85% of NHS 111 providers and several out-of-hours services, and the outage was described by the Welsh Ambulance Service as “major”, “far reaching” and affecting all four nations of the UK…
GPs in London were warned they may see a rush of patients sent by NHS 111 due to a “significant technical issue” and “system outage”.
Pulse magazine was told the issue had left NHS 111 unable to book patients into GP appointment slots…
An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS 111 services are still available for patients who are unwell, but as ever if it is an emergency please call 999. There is currently minimal disruption and the NHS will continue to monitor the situation as it works with Advanced to resolve their software system as quickly as possible – tried and tested contingency plans are in place for local areas who use this service.”
The disruption certainly didn’t seem minimal to our reader. Are other readers experiencing a similar problem? Let us know in the comments or by email.
Meanwhile, another reader sent us the image below, showing that his local surgery is now insisting on face masks and social distancing, not for COVID-19 but for “infectious diseases” generally. Which means forever, of course. Let’s hope this doesn’t catch on or become any kind of nationwide policy.
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People need to be aware that although 111 may use AdAstra some GP surgeries and urgent care centres use SystmOne, in Leicestershire this is certainly the case.
111 should have directed this patient to an urgent care centre/emergency treatment centre for a face to face appointment, particularly if the patient had evidence of what his medication is, he should have been able to get a written prescription.
The pharmacist at the pharmacy that the patient uses regularly could also provide a few days supply of medication again if the patient has the empty box, as I’m not sure which system the pharmacy would use.
No mask requirements at my GP, although the diabetic specialist nurse I saw was wearing one.
It may depend a lot on local arrangements. E.g. where I live, there is a pharmacy right next door to the GP’s surgery, and it can operate in such a way that the pharmacist can get the paperwork done next door quite quickly, if need be.
Adastra – means “to the stars”.
Interesting that it’s only the last half of the RAF’s motto, per ardua ad astra.
Obviously the NHS Manager Class would never condone using a system whose name celebrates overcoming ardua.
When I was in the medical school in Moscow the motto was Per aspera ad astra. My parents; aunt and grandmother went to the same school and had the same motto.
None of the western Corona-nonsense was ever really about COVID. Susan Michie already admitted that summer last year. It was always just about mysophobes in public health positions making others dance to the tune of their mental illness and all kinds of politicans (like this Italian guy whose supposed Corona measures had the effect of quickly spreading Sars-CoV2 throughout all of the Italian peninsula) sensing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take their various hobby horses out for a real ride.
The message behind the sign above is just that this GP refuses to see sick patients as she (almost certainly) claims to believe that’s just to dangerous for her and her staff, in other words, that she feels entitled to pocket an NHS salary without doing any work in return for that. I doubt that a nationwide “please don’t go to the doctor if you have symptoms of any kind of sickness” will gain much traction, as this sort-of contradicts the purpose of a health service. After two years of free-for-all, the scammers are obviously wont to try nevertheless.
Just in case someone doesn’t understand how this hangs together: It’s obviously impossible to perform any kind of medical procedure on someone who’s wearing a face covering and required to remain 2m distant from everyone else, especially, all so-called medical staff. Hence, the only work this GP can do is issue repeat prescriptions to patients with known, chronical conditions and even this only by using some kind of pickup location where staff members can drop the prescription and retreat to a safe distance before the patient in question is allowed to approach the description drop-off point.
So Cyber Polygon is beginning?
I mean think about it, who hacks an NHS database system?
Who benefits?
At a guess, maybe a Russian cyber attack.
The other question is why did the GP not issue the prescription requested. All on Covid leave (sorry – working from home).
Yea, everything what does not work in this country was broken by Russians. Very capable people by the look of it.
How very convenient. So some people will die as a result of this.
Isn’t it amazing all these calamities coming one after another ?
C1984, followed by versions 1 2,3,4,5 – how many are we up to? Global warming or climate change crap, moneypox, war with Russia, a fictional war with China over Taiwan, a debt crisis, food crisis – manufactured – water crisis – entirely manufactured – fuel crisis – entirely manufactured, an upcoming ‘flu crisis, a collapsing NHS. And other crises I have missed.
Oh, do F O!
“Let’s hope” mask wearing at any nhs facility does not become permanent. Hope? Gosh, I do not believe hoping and wishing will get anyone very far in life. Simply DO NOT WEAR A MASK? THE DATA IS CLEAR! THEY DO NOT WORK! CAUSE BACTERIA AND FUNGHI TO BUILD UP ON MASKS WHICH YOU, THE SUCKER WEARING A MASK, BREATHES IN. For god sake people JUST SAY NO!!!!
The image above showing that a local surgery is now insisting on face masks and social distancing, not for COVID-19 but for “infectious diseases” will clearly cause more harm than good.
Just one more reason many curable illnesses will not be diagnosed early. I for one would not and did not visit my local surgery whilst this policy exists/ed. Even for “essential” diabetes blood, urine, or eye checks.
But I can of course feel good about the fact that I have kept their staff and other patients safe from infectious diseases. If we all did the same we could all signal how virtuous we are. There would be no infectious diseases. We would save the entire human race…
FFS
It’s just a real-world GP service. I don’t really know how this is in other locations but at the so-called walk-in health centre (or what was the walk-in health centre — they first ceased to allow people in and then, turned into a vaccination centre. I have no idea, what it’s now) where I’m registered, the default patient is a (bored) brown-skinned woman with a toddler who wants to have a chat with someone sympathetic to her (idle) complaints, ie, the by far overwhelming majority of people who used to go there didn’t do so because they needed to see a doctor for any particular reason but because it was part of their kill-the-time-while-the-husband-is-working routine. Viewed through this lense, Please stay at least away if you’re sick makes a perverted kind of sense.
That’s of course not what a GP surgery used to be about or is supposed to be about but one has to go with the times.
:->
So a mask keeps people “safe from infectious diseases”. Yeah, like a chain link fence can stop flies.
You have to be concerned at the level of medical ignorance in this practice. A letter to the local CCG pointing out the fact that the practice is refusing to see patients and thus breaking the terms of their contract should provide an interesting response.
Unfortunately masks is a nationwide policy in the NHS. I have to wear one at work.