ELGIN GPs DECIDED IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO TREAT THEM WITHOUT MEDICAL HISTORY

By Donna MacAllister

Published: 09/02/2010

Hundreds of people in Moray were unable to see their GPs after a computer system crashed, blocking access to medical records.

Patients were turned away from the Maryhill Practice at Elgin Health Centre after doctors decided it would be too dangerous to treat them without being able to check their medical history.

The centre stayed open for emergencies, but practice manager Eileen Rae said it was the first time in her 21 years in the role that patients could not be treated.

“It is very disappointing to say the least,” she said.

Mrs Rae said the situation came to a head when computers crashed last Tuesday.

Around 200 patients were affected and it had been distressing for medical centre staff who were forced to tell them they could not be seen by a doctor on that day.

Read more  about this computer outage