SURGERIES in Jersey are among the businesses affected by the worldwide IT outage, with patient records unavailable and no evidence of appointments.
GPs have been hit by the unprecedented loss of the EMIS electronic patient record system, which is used by surgeries across the British Isles, including every surgery in Jersey.
“I can recall losing EMIS in Jersey for perhaps half an hour on one occasion in the past, but to have it unavailable for such a long period, because of the wider issue with Windows, isn’t something we’ve had before,” said Chris Sprent, practice manager for Island Medical Centre.
The impact of the problem was spelled out by Dr Ed Klaber, who works at Health Plus and is a member of the Primary Care Body.
“Currently we are unable to access our clinical record, so can’t see previous consultations or regular medications, which has made managing patients challenging today,” he said yesterday.
“We are still open and seeing patients, but lots of issues are having to be briefly deferred.
“Urgent problems can still be sorted and people needing a review should still contact their GP surgeries first.” Dr Klaber said it was still possible to issue paper prescriptions, but added that “everything is slower and more difficult”.
Receptionists at GP surgeries were effectively rendered surplus to requirements, as patients turning up for an appointment with a particular doctor at a set time were simply waved through to waiting areas, with no way of corroborating the appointment or linking it to previous consultations.
