Thousands of patients have been unable to access their GP surgery online after the technology firm Silicon Practice collapsed into administration. The loss of the company means some services, including entire websites, online consultations and chatbots, are no longer running.
Regions such as Gloucestershire, parts of Wales and London have faced disruption. Patients are being urged to call their GP practice or attend in person if they cannot access services online.
Scale of the Disruption
According to the NHS, fewer than 10% of the around 6,000 practices in England are affected. Affected practices have been contacted by NHS England with advice on how to minimise the impact on patient care.
One affected surgery is Rowcroft Medical Centre in Stroud, whose website is down. It posted advice for patients on its Facebook page on Wednesday saying it “received information late on Friday October 24 that the company who run GP websites across the county has gone into administration and ceased trading”.
Advice for Patients
The practice added: “Please be assured that appointments, telephone calls, emails, the NHS app and our Facebook page remain unaffected and will continue as normal. However, if you have submitted an online form in the last four hours and not had a response, please call our patient advisers.”
Swansea Bay University Health Board said it knew of three practice websites that had ceased to operate, while 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”.
NHS England Response
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.”
Silicon Practice ran the digital tool FootFall, which it advertised as reducing patient phone calls to practices by 30%. It said FootFall worked to “free your reception team from routine admin and manage demand more efficiently. Proven in 1,000+ GP practices across the UK”.
Impact on Practices
Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GP practice websites are an increasingly important way for patients to access care, book appointments and find information about the services available to them. When websites are not working, it can be hugely disruptive for patients and place additional pressures on already stretched practice teams. It is vital that any disruption to practice websites is addressed promptly to ensure patients are able to access care. Affected practices must receive prompt, practical support from NHS England and local NHS organisations to restore their websites, minimise disruption and ensure patients know how to contact their practice and access the care they need in the meantime.”
