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Practice News
IT issues affecting Bradford District and Craven GP practices
Updated 3pm on Thursday 31 July.
GP practices across Bradford District and Craven continue to be affected by major IT issues that are disrupting access to clinical systems. This is a serious and ongoing problem with significant impact on both patients and practice staff. We’re extremely grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding, and especially to practice teams who are working tirelessly under very difficult circumstances.
The issue relates to connectivity between the data centres that support IT systems for primary care in our area. We can confirm this is not a cyber attack, and there has been no breach of patient data. Patient information remains safe and secure. Additional technical resource has been brought in to help resolve the issue, and a phased recovery plan is being actively progressed.
Practices are open, but some appointments and services may take longer than usual. Patients will be contacted if any scheduled appointments need to be rearranged.
To carry out essential technical work, Enhanced Access services will not run this weekend (3–4 August). These are the additional GP appointments usually offered outside normal working hours. Standing these services down will help create the conditions needed to apply IT fixes safely, and gives us the best chance of restoring full functionality from Monday.
We understand this will cause inconvenience for some patients, but it is a necessary step to support recovery.
If you need urgent medical help and can’t contact your GP practice:
- Visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111
- Only attend A&E in the case of serious or life-threatening emergencies
Thank you for your continued patience, and for treating practice staff with kindness and respect during this difficult time.
We will continue to update this page as new information becomes available.
Patients with complaints or concerns can email wyicb.pals@nhs.net.
There continues to be an issue with the IT systems that service local GP practices across Bradford District and Craven.
All practices are open, but you may experience delays when contacting your practice – particularly through online services – or when attending your appointment. Please continue to attend any booked appointments unless you are contacted directly.
If you are struggling to get through to your GP and need help now, visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 – they can help and will know what to do if you can’t reach your practice. Please only go to A&E for serious injuries or emergencies, and call 999 if it’s life-threatening.
We would like to extend our sincere and heartfelt apologies to the patients affected. IT issues like this are outside of GP practices control, so thank you for continuing to treat practice staff with kindness and respect.
The Health Informatics Service (THIS) is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. This is not considered to be cyber related and patient data remains secure.
Patients with complaints or concerns can email wyicb.pals@nhs.net.
Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Weight Loss Treatment : Prescribing by GP Surgeries
We are aware of the media reporting that Mounjaro (tirzepatide) weight loss treatment is available for prescribing by GPs from 23 June 2025. West Yorkshire ICB, like many other ICBs in England, have yet to announce how the rollout of Mounjaro is going to be managed in our area.
Because of this, we are unable to prescribe Mounjaro at this time, and we are yet to know the timeframe of when we will be able to commence this, or whether it will be provided by an alternative community service.
Mounjaro will only available to a very limited number of obese patients in the first year, based on strict NHS criteria
Eligibility will include having a BMI of 40 or more and been diagnosed with at least four serious weight-related health conditions:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol or fat levels in your blood
- Sleep apnoea (trouble breathing while sleeping)
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
Patients must also take part in a structured support programme (wraparound care) including healthy eating and physical activity.
Please do not contact the Practice with enquiries regarding Mounjaro.
Keep our phone lines free for those in medical need.
We will not be able to prescribe this medication to you for weight management until arrangements are in place. Eligible patients will be contacted directly by the practice or the NHS in due course.
Updated June 2025
"The Call I Just Took..." Receptionists Campaign 2025
The Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) have launched a new campaign focusing on “The Call I Just Took”.
At Bowling Highfield Medical Practice we support this campaign to help raise awareness to be kind to all our Reception staff and the wider team.
Receptionists are not ‘just admin’ — they are patient advocates, navigating complex systems to get people the care they need. They are the gateway to the clinical team, and without them, there is no access. But constant abuse is pushing them to breaking point.
Burnout is rising, and we are losing skilled staff who can no longer absorb the emotional toll. This campaign is a call for compassion — because protecting our reception teams protects access to care.
Please watch the video above to see just a snapshot of what reception teams deal with on a daily basis. Our team not only answer phone calls, there is a lot of “hidden” work which patients don’t get to see.
You don’t know what happened on the call they just took..
May 2025
Switchover of the Laboratory Information Management System at Leeds Teaching Hospitals
In the week commencing Monday 19 May, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is switching over its Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), which will have a short-term impact on some non-urgent results. Due to necessary prioritisation of urgent samples, GP practice samples may experience additional delays.
The LIMS is a piece of software that processes the pathology requests made by hospital staff and GPs. It translates requests into laboratory tests which our analysers and laboratory staff can then process. The LIMS is pivotal for booking samples into the laboratories, analysing samples, and reporting results to the systems that staff use.
Further details and a contact point for patients can be found on Leeds Teaching Hospitals website.
Updated 09 May 2025
Page created: 01 December 2020