Health Minister predicts CrowdStrike outage will have lasting impact on NHS for days.
The government highlighted that enhancing the UK’s cyber defenses is a top priority as they plan to pass the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
A Cabinet Office minister informed MPs on Tuesday that the global IT outage, which significantly disrupted GP and pharmacy services in the UK, is expected to have lasting effects for days.
Last week, a faulty software update by CrowdStrike led to flight and train cancellations worldwide, affecting some health care systems.
The NHS encountered issues with accessing test results and appointment information, particularly impacting GP services, especially those using EMIS IT systems.
Patients were advised to wait until the issues were resolved, which also created backlogs in pharmacy prescription services.
Cabinet Office minister Ellie Reeves stated in the House of Commons that health care services are anticipated to return to full capacity in the coming days. She mentioned the enactment of NHS contingency plans to address the situation.
Reeves informed MPs that while some minor disruptions might persist as systems recover, they are expected to be resolved soon.
Patients unable to access GP appointments were directed to urgent care services, and GPs were able to provide paper prescriptions.
NHS England confirmed that their systems were back online on Monday, cautioning of potential delays as services recover and GP appointments are rescheduled.
Reflecting on the recent IT issues, Royal College of GPs Chair Kamila Hawthorne urged patient cooperation and advised checking practice websites and social media for updates.
Digital Defenses
MPs pressed for assurances from Reeves regarding strengthening digital defenses to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Officials from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms held meetings to manage the impact of the outage, with plans to collaborate with government departments and the National Cyber Security Centre to review lessons learned.
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, a government priority, aims to bolster UK cyber defenses and secure critical infrastructure and digital services.
Reeves assured the House that despite Friday’s incident, the government is focused on enhancing resilience and developing legislation to address cybersecurity issues.
Past and Future
The CrowdStrike outage follows previous cyber incidents affecting the NHS, such as the ransomware attack on London hospitals in June and the cyberattack on NHS Dumfries and Galloway in March.
Dr. David Wrigley from the British Medical Association’s GP committee emphasized the need for GP surgeries to catch up on lost work and secure better IT backup systems to prevent future disasters.
