The NHS has warned of “continued disruption” to GP services into next week after Microsoft revealed 8.5 million Windows devices were hit in a global IT outage.
A flawed update rolled out by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike knocked millions offline around the world on Friday, grounding flights, crippling some healthcare systems and taking tv channels off air.
Thousands of passengers had their travel plans cancelled when the botched software update hit Microsoft’s Windows operating system, with many travellers met with the “blue screen of death”.
Across England, GP surgeries reported being unable to book appointments or access patient records on Friday as their EMIS appointment and patient record system went down.
NHS England said on Saturday afternoon that its systems were “coming back online in most areas” but “still running slightly slower than usual”.
An NHS spokesperson said: “As practices recover from the loss of IT systems on Friday, there may be some continued disruption, particularly to GP services, in some areas into next week as practices work to rebook appointments.
“The advice for Monday remains that patients should attend appointments as normal unless told otherwise.”
One GP told the BBC the IT outage meant “everything went down” in her surgery and the disruption would cause “a lot more issues later on in the week”.The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said that patients collecting prescriptions could cause a backlog this weekend as pharmacies recover.
Some 207 flights, equating to 6.7 per cent of all scheduled UK departures, were axed on Friday, with others delayed, while 201 flights due to land in the UK were cancelled.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said 6,855 flights, or 6.2 per cent of all those scheduled, were cancelled globally on Friday.
It added that 1,639 flights had been cancelled globally as of 10am on Saturday, including 23 flights departing from UK airports, equating to 0.9 per cent of all scheduled UK departures, as well as 25 arrivals into the UK.
On Saturday the Port of Dover said it was dealing with “hundreds of displaced” airport passengers and urged customers to ensure they had a booking before arrival.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said on Saturday afternoon that the IT systems of UK airports and train operators were “back up and working as normal”, but “some delays and a small number of cancelled flights” were expected.
Travellers at Heathrow Airport were experiencing long queues on Saturday morning and reported problems with checking in for British Airways flights. Long check-in queues could also be seen at Gatwick Airport on Saturday.
Passengers reportedly struggled to buy tickets at London Waterloo station on Saturday morning.Elsewhere at London Paddington, QR code scanners stopped working, leaving ticket inspectors with no choice but to let passengers off the platforms, the MailOnline reported.
Less than one per cent of all Windows machines were affected during the outage, Microsoft said in a blog post, but “while the percentage was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services.”
CrowdStrike chief executive George Kurtz apologised, saying he is “deeply sorry” and made clear it was “not a security or cyber incident”.
In a technical statement, CrowdStrike said a “sensor configuration” had “triggered a logic error” which the company said had been corrected.
