Mims Davies MP shares update on global IT issue

"As I'm sure many of you will have seen, and experienced, a global IT issue has affected numerous industries today, including:

Transport
Banking
Retail systems.

A number of NHS services have been affected due to an issue with the appointment and patient record system (EMIS), and the system used to plan workplace rotas. 73 of the 156 GP practices in Sussex currently use EMIS, and the team are also aware that it has affected some specific services within the hospital partners and SECAmb has activated its business continuity plans.

The Sussex NHS team have informed me that actions are underway to ensure patients can continue to receive health and care services:

They are working with all GP practices and supported to enact their business continuity plans if they are affected. No GP practices should be closed.
Mitigating actions are in place, enabling staffing rotas and patient flow to be managed.
SECAmb has declared business continuity and is managing their activity through their agreed plans.
Wider system support is taking place through the incident response management to actively monitor activity and demand.
Additional actions are being considered ahead of the weekend, including staffing and GP practice extended access planned activity.

NHS England has shared an update nationally and the Sussex NHS team are working with Sussex system partners to ensure there are clear, coordinated messages to service users and the public. The public are being encouraged to continue to attend appointments and to use NHS services appropriately, including using NHS online or by phone if they have concerns or are unsure on where to access help.

This is supported with wider advice about staying well during the heatwave. There is system coordination, and the Sussex NHS team will continue to monitor the impact and any further action that may be needed ahead of the weekend.

Regarding train services - there is reassurance that the railway’s essential train control, communication and running systems are not affected, the network is open and running.

Some important secondary systems have some level of disruption resulting in short notice cancellations. However, contingency plans are in place and staff are working to update customers.

As always, the latest information including ticket acceptance in place is available on the front page of GTR's websites and via National Rail Enquiries."