Thousands of patients have been unable to access their GP surgery online after tech firm Silicon Practice collapsed into administration. The loss of the company means some services, such as entire websites, online consultations and chatbots, are no longer running.
Among those affected is Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBHB). The organisation said it knew of three practice websites that had ceased to operate.
Three Swansea Bay Practices Affected
In a statement issued on its website on October 27, the health board said: "There are three GP practices across Swansea Bay University Health Board that have been affected by a third-party company that provides their practice websites entering administration."
"As a result, the practices' websites will cease to operate. However, the practices have not been advised when this will occur, and if notice is provided, it is expected to be very short."
The three affected practices are Mount Surgery in Port Talbot (Afan Cluster), Castle Surgery (Neath Cluster) and Victoria Gardens Surgery (Neath Cluster).
Advice for Patients and National Impact
The health board advised that all prescription requests and fit notes should be sent to each practice's general email address if the website is not working.
Practices in Gloucestershire and London also faced disruption. According to the NHS, fewer than 10% of the around 6,000 practices in England are affected. The West and North London Integrated Care Board said practices using Silicon's services "are advised to inform patients that they will not have access to online consultation requests and provide alternate approaches to contact the practice for clinical support until an alternative online consultation provider is in place".
An NHS England spokesperson said: "While the majority of GP practice websites are running as normal, some practices which use Silicon Practice will be affected by the company going into administration. If your GP practice website is unavailable and you need help, you should contact your practice by phone or in person as usual."
Affected practices have been contacted by NHS England with advice on how to maintain business continuity and minimise the impact on patient care. Silicon Practice ran the digital tool FootFall, which it advertised as reducing patient phone calls to practices by 30%, stating it worked to "free your reception team from routine admin and manage demand more efficiently. Proven in 1,000+ GP practices across the UK".
