Hundreds of general practice surgeries across England and Wales have lost online services following the collapse of technology supplier Silicon Practice, GP leaders said. The failure of the firm has left practices without the digital systems they rely on to provide certain patient-facing and administrative functions.
Impact
GP leaders warned the outage will cause major disruption in parts of the country, particularly where the supplier provided a large share of practices’ online systems. While the exact services affected vary between surgeries, such systems are commonly used for tasks including appointment management, repeat prescription requests and electronic communications between patients and practice staff.
Practices and local health bodies are now having to manage the immediate practical consequences for patients and staff. GP leaders said arrangements will need to be put in place to ensure continuity of care, including alternative ways for patients to contact surgeries and for clinicians to manage workflows while digital links are unavailable.
The collapse of a digital supplier highlights the dependence of many practices on third‑party technology providers. Health leaders will be looking at both short‑term contingency measures and longer‑term options to reduce the risk of similar disruption in future, officials and practice representatives said.