NHS staff locked out of email as Microsoft outage hits hospitals, schools and police across UK
Disruption across public services
Hospitals, GP surgeries and police forces across the UK were affected by the global outage, as services worked to restore their systems. Users also reported problems accessing Microsoft services, including Outlook, with thousands worldwide unable to send or receive email.
NHS staff arriving for work on Friday morning said they could not access email, affecting healthcare delivery in hospitals and surgeries. NHS organisations urged patients not to email and to contact them by telephone instead.
Prescription delays warned
Pharmacy sources said email problems were limiting communication with some GP surgeries about prescriptions. They said the disruption was having a significant effect on patient waiting times for medicines.
Pharmacies asked people to expect longer waits than usual and possible delays to some prescriptions. Schools and universities were also unable to access email.
Government and Microsoft response
Defence readiness and industry minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio that government engineers and systems were working with Microsoft. He expected further detail during the day and warned that more people starting work could face frustration.
A parliamentary spokesperson said the global issue affecting Microsoft email services was impacting users of the parliamentary network. The spokesperson said work was under way with Microsoft to resolve it as quickly as possible. Pollard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that dependence on technology had increased, and said disruptions from technology companies were becoming more noticeable.
Key points
- The global Microsoft outage disrupted hospitals, GP surgeries, schools and police across the UK.
- NHS staff reported email access problems affecting healthcare delivery on Friday morning.
- Pharmacies warned of longer waits and possible prescription delays.
- Government engineers and Microsoft were working to resolve the disruption.