By Salma El-Sakka
Thousands of patients have lost access to GP online services after the technology firm Silicon Practice collapsed into administration, disrupting websites, online consultations and chatbots at practices in Gloucestershire, parts of Wales and London.
NHS England said fewer than 10% of the roughly 6,000 GP practices in England are affected. Patients are being advised to contact their surgery by phone or in person if online systems are unavailable.
Practices report website outages
Rowcroft Medical Centre in Stroud said its website went down after learning on 24 October that the company running GP websites across the county had ceased trading. The practice assured patients that appointments, telephone lines, emails, the NHS app and its Facebook page remain unaffected.
Swansea Bay University Health Board identified three practice websites that had stopped operating, while the West and North London Integrated Care Board urged practices using Silicon’s services to inform patients of the loss of online consultation requests and provide alternative contact methods.
NHS England issues guidance
An NHS England spokesperson said affected practices have been contacted with advice on maintaining business continuity and minimising impact on patient care. The majority of GP practice websites are running normally.
Royal College of GPs warns of added pressure
Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, said practice websites are an increasingly important way for patients to access care. She warned that outages can be hugely disruptive and place additional pressure on already stretched teams, calling for prompt practical support to restore services and ensure patients know how to access care.
