GP online services face disruption after tech firm Silicon Practice collapses

Hundreds of general practices across England and Wales have lost their digital services after technology firm Silicon Practice went into administration, BBC News and Distilled Post reported. The BBC News report stated that the company provided digital services, including websites, online booking, and online consultations, for roughly 500 practices, which represents just under 10% of the total practices in England. [1][2][3]

Affected practices are located across the country, including in London, Gloucestershire, and Norfolk, according to BBC News. Digital services in Wales have also experienced issues due to the firm's collapse. Distilled Post noted that GP practices are now seeking replacement websites and online consultation systems to restore their digital operations. [1][3]

General practice leaders said the failure of the tech company will cause huge disruption because of the large volume of bookings that now occur online, BBC News reported. Patients in the affected regions are being advised to book appointments by telephone instead of using the web portals. [1]

Despite the outage of individual practice systems, the main NHS app remains operational, BBC News reported. Patients can still access the NHS app while surgeries work to establish alternative online tools. [1]