// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
GPs, police and pharmacies among UK services affected by Microsoft outage
GPs, police and pharmacies are among UK services affected by a global outage on some Microsoft platforms.
NHS England said patients should still attend appointments unless told otherwise, while several large police forces are urging members of the public to call if they want to make a report. MPs have also been affected.
Microsoft has said the problem was caused by a higher-than-usual stress on its servers but that systems were now showing "early signs of stabilisation" as work continued on a fix.
Major airports and UK intelligence services have been unaffected by the outage, while a minister said officials were assessing the extent of the impact on government services.
Sir Ciarán Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, which represents the healcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the outage was affecting some NHS services including emails.
NHS trusts in England were enacting measures to minimise disruption to critical services, a spokesperson said.
Patients have been told to continue to use 999 in an emergency and otherwise contact 111, 111 online or their local pharmacy.
Some GP surgeries have urged patients not to submit messages via their website while the problem remains. Practices in Hampshire and Shropshire have told patients to phone them or come into the surgery if they have an urgent need.
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A spokesperson for the National Pharmacy Association said the outage was affecting pharmacies' ability to communicate with GP practices and some patients, so "waits may be longer than normal and there may be delays to some prescriptions".