- Published
Key services across the UK including the NHS, GPs, police and pharmacies have been affected by a global Microsoft outage.
asserted
services → publish → outage
NHS England said patients should still attend appointments unless told otherwise, while several large police forces are urging the public to call if they want to report a crime.
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they → say → crime
Schools have also been affected by the outage.
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Schools → affect → outage
Microsoft said services were now gradually being restored globally after a problem caused by a higher-than-usual stress on its servers, but users could still experience disruption.
uncertain
users → say → disruption
The government said it was working closely with the firm to assess any impact on its services, while local authorities warned that some council services were being affected.
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services → say → services
The full extent of the impact of the outage - which is affecting Outlook, Teams and Copilot - and the time it will take to restore the systems remains unclear hours after users first reported issues.
Some 430 million people use the online tools worldwide.
The chief executive of the NHS Alliance, which represents the healcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the outage was affecting some services including emails.
uncertain
outage → affect → emails
NHS trusts in England were enacting measures to minimise disruption to critical services, a spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → enact → services
Patients have been told to continue to use 999 in an emergency and otherwise contact 111, 111 online or their local pharmacy.
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Patients → tell → 111
Some GP surgeries have urged patients not to submit messages via their website while the problem remains.
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problem → urge → website
Practices in Hampshire and Shropshire have told patients to phone them or come into the surgery if they have an urgent need.
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they → tell → need
A National Pharmacy Association spokesperson said the outage was affecting pharmacies' ability to communicate with GP practices and some patients, so "waits may be longer than normal and there may be delays to some prescriptions".
uncertain
waits → say → prescriptions
The overall impact on health services remains unclear.
uncertain
impact → remain → services
Much of the NHS calendar is linked to diaries using the Microsoft system, but workflow practices differ between hospitals and trusts.
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practices → link → hospitals
There are anecdotal reports of c-sections being cancelled and hospitals only accepting urgent referrals - though the impact on elective treatments has yet to be confirmed.
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impact → be → treatments
The GMB union's national secretary Rachel Harrison said the outage was having a "serious impact" on ambulance and NHS trusts.
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outage → say → trusts
"Those who work in 111 and 999 services are unable to refer patient details in the normal way which is creating a massive backlog and has the potential for chaos," she said, though "emergency and life-threatening call outs appear to be unaffected".
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outs → work → chaos
Meanwhile, police forces in England and Wales - including the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police and Police Scotland - have said online forms may be affected.
uncertain
forms → include → Police
They are urging people to call them about any time-critical by non-emergency matters.
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They → urge → matters
Downing Street said it was looking to get a "full picture" of the the extent of the outage's effect on government services.
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it → say → services
In England, the Local Government Association warned that some services may be disrupted but plans were in place to ensure people "continue to receive the support they need".
uncertain
they → warn → support
Because the outage affects key organisational and communication platforms that are integrated, many other workplaces have been affected.
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workplaces → affect → platforms
Some teachers have reported being unable to access their calendars, emails and files on cloud servers, while parents in several parts of Scotland being told to call to report absences rather than using email.
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parents → report → email
Royal Mail said some of its online services were unavailable and email notifications about deliveries may be impacted, but post was still being collected and delivered as normal
MPs have been unable to access their parliamentary accounts.
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MPs → say → accounts
A spokesperson said alternative arrangements were in place
MSPs also confirmed that Holyrood's emails systems were down, meaning they were unable to communicate with constituents or access urgent casework
Some businesses are reverting to using paper or moving to different communication platforms like WhatsApp.
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businesses → say → WhatsApp
Microsoft and cyber-security experts have ruled out a cyber-attack being the cause of the outage.
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attack → rule → outage
The tech firm said a large number of its servers had become "unexpectedly unavailable", meaning traffic was sent to the servers that remained online, putting them under strain.
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that → say → strain
"Just like on a motorway, when you block one lane, you have to put all of the excess traffic through just, say, one or two lanes," Jake Moore, a cyber-security adviser at ESET, explained.
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Moore → block → ESET
"Everything goes and backs up.
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Everything → go → ?
It slows down, and that's what we're seeing here."
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we → slow → what
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that this incident should "hammer home" the need for contingency communication networks that are "independent of others".
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that → tell → others
"Unfortunately, we just put so much emphasis on just a few providers - so when one big one like this goes down, the knock-on effects are just huge."
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effects → put → this
His sentiment was echoed by Nicky Choo, who said his cyber-security firm Mimecast used Microsoft tools but had built-in alternatives to prevent disruption.
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firm → echo → disruption
Moore added that "good old-fashioned phone lines" seemed to be "the strongest form of communication, especially today".
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lines → add → communication
Caroline Wade, who runs her own PR agency in Kent, told the BBC that the outage had caused "huge disruption" to her work, including one client with an exhibition launch and another running a large public art project in central London.
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outage → run → London
"You feel that this is something that you can rely upon - it's quite incredible that it's not been sorted yet," she said.
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she → feel → that
But others were initially glad to hear about the Friday 13th outage - especially as it has occurred just before the weekend.
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it → hear → weekend
Martin told the BBC that waking up to no new emails was "absolute bliss" until he realised "today is a crucial day to conclude a business deal".
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today → tell → deal
Meanwhile, one Radio 1 listener described it as "equivalent to an adult snow day".
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listener → describe → day
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