UK doctors and travel firms warn of backlog after global IT outage

NHS patients have been warned GP services “cannot be resumed immediately”, and stranded holidaymakers told it could take “days” to get them to their destinations, as the effects of Friday’s global IT outage continue.

CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company at the heart of the crisis, said on Sunday that it had deployed a fix for the “defect” with its software, which has caused chaos around the world for businesses that use Microsoft operating systems.

But the outage has caused a backlog to crucial services, including the NHS, which will take time to clear, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.

“Friday was one the toughest single days in recent times for GPs across England,” said Dr David Wrigley, deputy chairman of GPC England, the representative body for GPs at the BMA.

“Without a clinical IT system, many were forced to return to pen and paper to be able to serve their patients.

“While GPs and their teams worked hard to look after as many as they could, without access to the information they needed much of the work has had to be shifted into the coming week.”

Wrigley said the temporary loss of the Emis patient record system used by GPs had led to a “considerable” backlog.

He added: “Even if we could guarantee it could be fully fixed on Monday, GPs would still need time to catch up from lost work over the weekend, and NHS England should make clear to patients that normal service cannot be resumed immediately.

People dialling the NHS 111 telephone line, for urgent health problems that are not life-threatening, were told that the outage meant that information given to call handlers might not be passed on to hospitals or clinics that callers were told to visit.

Computer systems affected by the CrowdStrike problem, triggered by a software update on Friday, have largely returned to normal.

But the knock-on effect on crowded summer holiday flight schedules means the global air travel network is still suffering disruption.

Some stranded air passengers were warned it could take “days” to get them to their destination and that there may be no accommodation for them in the meantime, as hotels are busy during the peak summer holiday season.

The no-frills airline Wizz Air said its systems were up and running but warned that flight schedules would take “some time to return to normal”.

The airline said customers could rebook or seek refunds via their online accounts.

But it admitted that it might not be able to find stranded passengers suitable accommodation, promising to reimburse customers if they could find a place to stay “within a reasonable amount”. It did not specify what it considered reasonable.

Travel firm TUI said it had cancelled 11 flights from five UK airports on Sunday, after axing 32 flights from 10 airports on Friday, blaming the effect of the CrowdStrike outage on its airline’s crewing system.

The cancellations mean some package deals have been called off at short notice.

Flight and hotel customers who were due to travel on a cancelled flight will be able to change their holiday to any other TUI package without paying admin fees, including a 10% “rebooking incentive” if the new holiday is more expensive.

Customers will also receive a £200 voucher for future trips, or £100 for children.

Those who wish to cancel will receive a full refund, as well as the voucher. Flight-only customers will automatically receive a refund on cancelled trips.

On Friday, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority wrote to airlines reminding them of their obligations to help travellers with replacement flights, and refreshments and accommodation when needed. It told them that the outage was likely to be regarded as “extraordinary circumstances”, which meant they would not have to pay fixed compensation.

Airlines’ battle to return to normal service were not helped by weather-related restrictions imposed over European skies on Saturday.

EasyJet said it was not affected by the CrowdStrike outage but was still wrestling with the flight backlog caused by bad weather.

It said customers could rebook or receive a refund, hotel accommodation and meals when required.

On Sunday, CrowdStrike said that the outage had been identified and that “a fix has been deployed.”

“We understand the gravity of this situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption.”