Microsoft problems slow work at South Savo health services

A global Microsoft disruption slowed work at South Savo’s Eloisa wellbeing services county, where employees’ emails were not getting through, Yle reports. Patient safety was not put at risk, according to a doctor and the county’s digital director.

Karel Liinaharja, a doctor in adolescent psychiatry, said he had been refreshing his inbox every few minutes for six hours. Work-related email and the secure email system used for communications with authorities were unavailable. Liinaharja uses email to contact child protection services and the police.

The patient records system is not a Microsoft product. Liinaharja said patient care had continued almost normally, though some tasks were delayed. He was unable to complete a couple of medical statements that day and said they would have to wait until the following week.

Microsoft Teams meetings worked intermittently, but audio and video were badly disrupted. Urgent matters could be handled by phone, Liinaharja said. Eloisa’s digital director, Jukka Mielonen, said the situation was being monitored closely and that email traffic had begun working again at around 2 p.m.