{"id":12277,"date":"2024-09-24T03:11:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T03:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/what-was-the-impact-of-the-global-it-outage\/"},"modified":"2024-09-24T03:11:42","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T03:11:42","slug":"what-was-the-impact-of-the-global-it-outage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/what-was-the-impact-of-the-global-it-outage\/","title":{"rendered":"What was the impact of the global IT outage"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

GP services in England and Northern Ireland faced huge disruption following IT problems caused by a software update by CrowdStrike<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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GPs couldn’t treat patients, people were stranded as planes couldn’t get off the ground, and small businesses lost thousands in sales.<\/p>\n

Two months on from the global IT outage on 19 July, the full impact is still only now becoming apparent. <\/p>\n

A rogue software update by the US cybersecurity company CrowdStrike crippled up to eight and half million computers using Microsoft systems around the world.<\/a><\/p>\n

Adam Meyers – a senior manager at CrowdStrike – will testify at the US Congress on Tuesday to explain what happened and how the company is going to prevent another disaster.<\/p>\n

Dr David Wrigley, a GP for the past 22 years, tells the BBC that in the most serious cases, it resulted in possible delays for cancer treatments.<\/p>\n

“It was a very difficult period of time with very little help and support,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dr David Wrigley has called on NHS England and the UK government to provide GPs with much more support if this ever happened again<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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For many GPs, they were unable to use the EMIS system – a digital way of managing appointment bookings and patient records, as well as sending prescriptions to pharmacies.<\/p>\n

The BMA said the CrowdStrike outage<\/a> was “one of the toughest single days in recent times for GPs across England”, with doctors forced to return to pen and paper.<\/p>\n

At Dr Wrigley’s practice, computer problems continued between Friday and Monday. <\/p>\n

He said this created a backlog that delayed urgent tasks such as writing referral letters for patients with suspected cancers.<\/p>\n

In some cases, this would have been delayed by “three or four days”.<\/p>\n

“You have to prioritise those and send them as soon as possible,” he said. <\/p>\n

“All the referrals we do are done electronically – that couldn\u2019t happen.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"BritishBritish Medical Association<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In her 27 years as a GP, Dr Frances O’Hagan says the only disruption similar to the CrowdStrike outage was Covid and a bomb scare outside her practice in Armagh during the Troubles<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Elsewhere, the BMA said there were also major problems in Northern Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Around 75% of GPs in Northern Ireland use the EMIS system according to Dr Frances O’Hagan, the chair of BMA\u2019s Northern Ireland GP committee.<\/p>\n

“We couldn’t do anything for most people,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We just had to take it on the chin and get on with it.”<\/p>\n

She said GPs in Northern Ireland faced similar backlogs to colleagues in England, including a delay to suspected cancer referrals. <\/p>\n

The Department of Health told the BBC it is in discussion with “external suppliers” to strengthen “continuity arrangements” following the CrowdStrike outage.<\/p>\n

It says GPs had access to “local copies” of patient data from EMIS during the outage, and all other systems worked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, told the BBC it was “crucial” that there should be “safeguards in place” in the future.<\/p>\n

In Surrey, 50 patients who were due to receive radiotherapy treatment on the day of the outage were forced to reschedule.<\/a> <\/p>\n

A spokesperson from NHS Royal Surrey Trust said all urgent cases were seen within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

NHS England did not comment. <\/p>\n

The UK government told BBC News contingency plans were quickly enacted, and said it is working with NHS England to help prevent similar incidents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The ‘chaos’ at the airports<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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These passengers at Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands were among the many travellers disrupted by the CrowdStrike outage<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Melanie Cree and her husband Alan, from Bangor in Northern Ireland, were due to fly home from Corfu Airport on the day of the outage.<\/p>\n

Travel operators were forced to cancel thousands of flights across the world – and Melanie and Alan’s flight was axed. <\/p>\n

After being taken to and from the airport several times in the next few days, they managed to fly home on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"MelanieMelanie Cree<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Melanie and Alan had been on a two-week holiday on the Greek island with friends to enjoy their 40th wedding anniversary<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Melanie said passengers were given no food, and some ran out of medication.<\/p>\n

“It totally ruined what should have been our dream holiday,” she said. <\/p>\n

“We have lovely memories, but we came back absolutely shattered. It was complete chaos.”<\/p>\n

Their provider Tui gave them a \u00a3400 voucher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"LauraLaura Jones<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Laura Jones, pictured with her family on their holiday in Rhodes, said the whole experience has put her off foreign travel for a while<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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As Melanie and Alan struggled in Corfu, another UK family were caught up in the delays just over 500 miles (804km) away.<\/p>\n

Laura and Malcolm Jones were struggling to return home after a holiday in Rhodes with their children.<\/p>\n

When they were on the tarmac, the flight was cancelled. Laura told the BBC there was no information, no return of bags, and no plan.<\/p>\n

They spent 16 hours at the airport before they were taken to a conference centre, where frustrated travellers used tablecloths as blankets.<\/p>\n

The family paid \u00a3560 out of their own pockets to fly back to the UK a few days later. <\/p>\n

Tui has given them a \u00a3600 voucher.<\/p>\n

“I was looking forward to travelling abroad again after Covid, but I think I might just stick going to west Wales for a few years,” Laura joked.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Tui apologised to its customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The CrowdStrike outage had an impact at airports around the world, with these weary passengers pictured in Detroit, Michigan<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

The small business owners<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Back in the UK, small business owner Dawn Watts was caught up in the outages in a different way – her website, which provides supplies to cleaning companies and hotels, was out of action.<\/p>\n

She estimates to have lost about \u00a3600 in sales.<\/p>\n

“It is extremely worrying,” she said. <\/p>\n

“I am a sole trader – I can\u2019t have this happening again.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Dawn<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dawn Watts was particularly worried by the CrowdStrike outage, as she didn’t have the support of a big company behind her.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Hannah Al-Khaldi, who runs a boutique fitness studio in London, faced similar issues with a non-functional website.<\/p>\n

She estimates the outage cost her \u00a31,000.<\/p>\n

“It showed how many systems worldwide had put their eggs in one basket,” she said.<\/p>\n

“When one link in the chain fails, everything else goes down. <\/p>\n

“Is there enough choice out there for providers, or was CrowdStrike the only option?”<\/p>\n

A spokesperson from CrowdStrike told BBC News: “As we have said previously, we fully understand the gravity of the incident and apologise to everyone who was affected. <\/p>\n

“We\u2019re committed to using the lessons learned to better serve our customers and prevent anything like this from happening again.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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