NHS plunged into chaos as national booking service goes down in worldwide IT outage
NHS hospitals were not affected - unlike surgeries across the country
PA
Britons have been left unable to book GP appointments in the wake of a global IT outage which has sparked travel, supermarket and banking chaos.
GP surgeries have said they are unable to access patient records or book appointments due to the major cyber issues - with providers reporting problems up and down the country.
Across England, practices said they could not access the Emis Web system - though it is understood that NHS hospitals were unaffected by the outage.
NHS England said the outage was "causing disruption in the majority of GP practices" in England - but there was no known impact on 999 or emergency services.
The health service said patients should attend appointments unless told otherwise and should only contact their GP in urgent cases.
NHS hospitals were not affected - unlike surgeries across the country
PAEmis Web - the most widely used clinical system for primary care in the UK - enables GP practices to book appointments, examine records, help make clinical decisions and streamline admin.
In Cheshire, the Wilmslow Health Centre reported that "all practices in the UK using the NHS commissioned GP computer system Emis are currently without access to their IT systems".
It continued: "This is beyond the control of GP surgeries. Please bear with us until we have our IT systems back online."
Britons trying to book prescriptions took to social media to voice their dismay; one said: "Just been told my GP can't get on the system to sort medication out... So what do I do? Try phoning again in an hour? Can't you just write one out?"
And Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands also said there was a "national issue" with Emis Web.
MORE AS IT OUTAGES HIT WORLDWIDE:
The Pocklington Group Practice warned of cancellations
It said on social media: "Unfortunately there is a national issue with Emis Web - our clinical computer system.
"This will affect our ability to book/consult with patients this morning. We will update patients when we can. We apologise for the disruption."
Windrush Medical Practice in Witney in Oxfordshire said it was continuing as normal, but told patients with "routine concerns" that they could be left waiting until Monday.
It said: "We're continuing as normal for urgent enquiries but ask for routine concerns to wait until Monday. Please continue to submit your queries through Engage Consult."
Other GP surgeries hit by the outage have said the issue "will have a big effect".
Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside in Cumbria wrote: "We're impacted by the IT outage. This will have a big effect on us, so apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused, and delays on the phone."
Another post by Pocklington Group Practice in the East Riding of Yorkshire said: "Due to ongoing Windows issues affecting IT worldwide, the practice is currently unable to function as normal.
"This may result in appointments needing to be cancelled and rearranged. Updates will follow when available."