GP IT service status

Find updates for for GP IT including service disruption updates from SCW. 

GP IT services status

Latest update

Almost all of Kent and Medway practices have migrated to a second virtual private network (VPN) concentrator in the data centre. This means that access to the network is remaining stable.

The few sites that  have not migrated, due to how their specific Kent Public Sector Network (KPSN) connection is configured, will still benefit from the increased network capacity on the existing VPN concentrator. They have been contacted directly to discuss this.

Consequently, there continues to be far fewer reports being logged with the service desk because of issues with access to the network. As of 10am today (Wednesday, 29 April), there have been no calls logged by Kent and Medway practices related to this incident since 10.30am on Monday, 27 April.

From a technical perspective, this is still being managed by the NHS South Central West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) as a major incident, with ongoing investigations, and this will continue until the network connectivity is fully stabilised.

If you are still experiencing issues, please  continue to report them via the  SCW Service Desk  to make sure they are tracked and prioritised appropriately.

We appreciate that even with improved access it will take many days to recover from the impact of this incident.

Following resolution of the current incident, a full root cause analysis, which will include an independent review, of the issues practices have faced over the last few weeks will be undertaken. This will be shared and include an action plan to ensure the future stability of GP IT systems.

What's causing the issue?

There are two main factors contributing to the recent outages:

1. Firewall instability (Cisco Meraki) - A software issue is affecting a number of firewalls across the estate. The impact is intermittent, with different sites affected at different times.

    • Issues are often resolved by rebooting devices, although this can be delayed due
      to reliance on cloud processes.
    • Cisco are now directly engaged, with diagnostic data captured from affected sites.
    • Daily technical calls are in place with Cisco to drive root cause identification and
      resolution.

2. Network capacity constraints (VPN concentrator) - Currently, all traffic routes through a single VPN concentrator, which is reaching capacity during peak times (particularly early mornings). This is compounding the firewall issue.

What are we doing now?

  • Temporary measure: Non-essential downloads restricted before 10am to reduce peak demand.
  • Installed a second VPN concentrator (implementation from week beginning 20 April.).

This will:

  • Provide four times the current capacity
  • Enable traffic prioritisation so clinical systems take precedence
  • Allow load balancing, reducing risk of single-point congestion.