A global outage on Microsoft platforms has affected various UK services, including GPs, police, and pharmacies. NHS England advised patients to attend appointments unless otherwise instructed, while some police forces urged the public to call for non-emergency reports. Microsoft reported that the issue was due to higher-than-usual stress on its servers, with early signs of stabilization.
The outage has impacted some NHS services, including emails, and has led to delays in prescription processing at pharmacies. Several police forces have reported issues with online forms, advising the public to call for non-emergency reports. Major airports and UK intelligence services have not been affected by the outage.
Microsoft has ruled out a cyber-attack as the cause of the outage, attributing it to a large number of its servers becoming unexpectedly unavailable. The incident has highlighted the need for contingency communication networks that are independent of major providers.
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