Patients have been unable to use websites and online consultation services at GP practices in parts of the UK after technology provider Silicon Practice entered administration, disrupting digital access to primary care.
The failure has affected services including practice websites, electronic consultation systems and chatbots. In the Swansea Bay area, the health board said it was aware of three surgeries whose websites had stopped operating or were expected to do so with limited warning.
Practices told to provide alternative contact routes
The surgeries named by Swansea Bay University Health Board are Mount Surgery in Port Talbot, and Castle Surgery and Victoria Gardens Surgery in the Neath area. The health board said patients should use their practices’ general email addresses for prescription requests and applications for fit notes when the relevant website was unavailable.
“The three affected practices are: Mount Surgery, Port Talbot (Afan Cluster), Castle Surgery (Neath Cluster) and Victoria Gardens Surgery (Neath Cluster).”
The disruption means that patients who would ordinarily begin a request through a surgery website may need to rely on other channels. The health board said the practices had not been told precisely when their websites would cease to function and warned that, if notice was given, it was expected to be very short.
- Online practice websites have been withdrawn or disrupted at some surgeries.
- Online consultations and chatbot functions are among the services no longer available in affected areas.
- Patients have been directed towards alternative contact arrangements, including practice email addresses for certain requests.
Disruption extends beyond Swansea Bay
The problem is not confined to Wales. Practices in Gloucestershire and London have also experienced disruption linked to Silicon Practice’s collapse. The NHS said fewer than 10% of approximately 6,000 GP practices in England were affected.
West and North London Integrated Care Board advised practices using the company’s services to tell patients that online consultation requests would not be available. It said surgeries should provide different ways for people to seek clinical support while replacement online consultation arrangements were put in place.
| Area | Reported impact |
|---|---|
| Swansea Bay | Three practice websites affected, with alternative arrangements required |
| Gloucestershire | Practices reported to have experienced disruption |
| London | Patients advised that online consultation requests may be unavailable |
| England overall | Fewer than 10% of about 6,000 practices affected, according to the NHS |
A test of continuity in digital primary care
Online systems have become an important route for contacting GP practices, requesting administrative documents and seeking clinical advice. The outage demonstrates the practical consequences when a third-party supplier supporting those functions becomes unavailable. Although the reported impact represents a minority of English practices, it involves services that patients may use as their first point of contact with a surgery.
For practices affected by the administration, the immediate requirement is to maintain a clear alternative route for patients. In Swansea Bay, guidance has focused on using existing practice email addresses for prescriptions and fit notes. In London, practices have been asked to explain how patients can obtain clinical support until another online provider is available.
The incident also highlights the dependence of GP access on external digital suppliers. The information available does not specify how long the disruption will last, when replacement systems will be installed, or whether every affected practice will experience the same interruption. For now, patients using a surgery affected by the collapse are being directed to check their practice’s own communications and use the alternative contact method provided.
