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Key services across the United Kingdom, including the NHS, GP surgeries, and schools, have been affected by a global Microsoft outage. Pharmacies, businesses, and government offices have also been hit after essential email and messaging services went down.
Healthcare and Emergency Services Disruption
NHS England advised patients to continue attending appointments unless instructed otherwise, while several major police forces urged the public to call directly to report crimes. The chief executive of the NHS Alliance stated that the outage affected services including emails, and NHS trusts in England enacted measures to protect critical operations.
Patients were instructed to use 999 in emergencies and contact 111 by phone, online, or through local pharmacies for other needs. Certain GP surgeries advised patients not to submit online messages, with practices in Hampshire and Shropshire telling patients to call or visit in person.
As reported by BBC News, a National Pharmacy Association spokesperson stated that pharmacies experienced communication issues with GP practices and patients, leading to potential delays for prescriptions and longer waiting times. GMB union national secretary Rachel Harrison noted that the outage created a massive backlog for 111 and 999 services by preventing normal patient detail referrals, though emergency call-outs appeared unaffected.
Police forces across England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police, and Police Scotland, reported that online forms might be affected and asked the public to call for time-critical, non-emergency matters.
Impact on Government, Education, and Businesses
Downing Street stated it was working to get a full picture of how the outage affected government services. In England, the Local Government Association warned of potential council service disruptions, while the Scottish government activated its resilience operations and MSPs confirmed that Holyrood email systems were down.
Schools faced difficulties as teachers, staff, and parents lost access to calendars, emails, and cloud servers. A head teacher near Newcastle reported that safeguarding systems were disrupted, requiring in-person reporting, while a Cheshire head teacher delayed termly school reports. Universities also suffered online system disruptions, leading institutions like the University of Portsmouth and University of Aberdeen to extend deadlines or waive penalties.
Royal Mail reported that some online delivery notification and digital services were unavailable, though post continued to be collected and delivered normally. Members of Parliament were unable to access parliamentary accounts, though alternative arrangements were put in place.
Businesses and independent workers also experienced difficulties. Caroline Wade, a PR agency owner in Kent, told BBC News that the outage caused huge disruption by halting pitches and invoices. Georgia Young from Staffordshire reported a delay in completing a house purchase, and Dave Walker noted threats to pre-Christmas sales for his bakery and wine bar.
Cause and System Restoration
Microsoft and cyber-security experts ruled out a cyber-attack as the cause of the outage. The technology company explained that an unexpected unavailability of a large number of servers directed all traffic to remaining online infrastructure, putting those servers under heavy strain.
Jake Moore, a cyber-security adviser at ESET, compared the server overload to a motorway lane closure forcing excess traffic through limited lanes. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he emphasized that the incident highlights the need for independent contingency communication networks.
Microsoft stated that services were gradually being restored globally, though users could still experience ongoing disruptions hours after issues were first reported across platforms including Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, which serve approximately 430 million users worldwide.
