Glitch may have impacted thousands of GP letters

About 7,300 hospital letters may not have been received by GPs due to a computer issue, officials have said.

The Government of Jersey said approximately 27% of discharge letters, used to give details to a patient's GP about their visit to hospital, issued since February could have been affected.

Health Minister Tom Binet said the issue was linked to third-party software which connect hospital and GP computer systems, but no data had been lost.

Binet said health department staff and GPs were working together to resolve the problem and apologised for any concern caused.

Discharge letters are used to tell a patient's GP why someone attended hospital, treatment they received, medicine details, and whether any follow-up care, tests or referrals are needed.

Binet added GPs would receive a report to help them identify any patients who might have been affected by the issue.

The minister said "to support patient safety" paper discharge letters were now being produced in the Emergency Department and copies provided to patients when they leave.

"Islanders do not need to take any action at this stage," Binet said.

"This issue highlights the importance of improving digital systems across health and social care and why investment is being made to improve the sharing of medical information safely and reliably."

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.