Millions of patients were unable to access vital healthcare information for several hours today due to issues with the NHS app. The outage means that services like booking GP appointments, requesting repeat prescriptions and checking on hospital referrals were not available.
People trying to log in earlier this afternoon got a message which stated: “We could not log you in. This may be a temporary problem. You can go back and try logging in again.”
Reports of issues on the outage tracker website Downdetector started before noon and peaked at around 1.30pm.
According to the NHS website the app has been updated today, stating: “We’ve improved how we help you if there’s a problem in the App with your hospital referral.
“We’ve improved the way you switch back to your profile when managing health services for others.
“We’ve fixed several bugs.”
But frustrated users took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say that the biggest bug is people not being able to log in to the app.
One user posted: “As much as I don’t want anyone else to be having issues I was relieved to see this as I can’t access my account. Definitely a widespread issue!”
And, accompanied by a facepalm emoji, one GP wrote: “NHS App ‘it’s the future’.”
Today’s outage will be awkward for Health Secretary Wes Streeting who has long preached about how the NHS App is key to the future of the health service.
In a speech in Blackpool last summer he stated: “The NHS feels increasingly slow and outdated to the generation that organises their lives at the touch of a button. If you get annoyed at Deliveroo not getting your dinner to you in less than an hour, how will you feel being told to wait a year for a knee operation? A failure to modernise risks this generation walking away from the NHS, first for their healthcare, and then with their taxes.
“People won’t accept paying higher and higher taxes to fund a health service that no longer meets their needs. And the lack of control people feel over their own lives is made worse by an analogue, ‘computer says no’, NHS. We can only close this inequality and shut down this risk to the NHS’s future, through a revolution in patient power.”
“The ambition of our 10 Year Health Plan is nothing less than to provide NHS patients with the same ease and convenience that’s afforded to private patients. The good news is that technology gives us the opportunity to democratise healthcare in a way never before possible. It can empower patients with choice and control and make managing our healthcare as convenient as doing our shopping or banking online.”
NHS England says the problem was due to a technical issue which has now been resolved.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
