Cyber-attack on London hospitals has marked a critical incident – BBC News
Major London hospitals have declared a critical incident after a cyber attack led to operations being canceled and emergency patients being transferred elsewhere.
It applies to hospitals partnered with Synnovis – a provider of disease services.
King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ – including the Royal Brompton and Evelina Children’s Hospital in London – and primary care services are among those affected.
The incident had a “significant impact” on service delivery, particularly blood transfusions and test results.
Some procedures have been scrapped or transferred to other NHS providers as hospitals try to figure out what work can be done safely.
The NHS said that emergency care continues to be available.
GP services across the Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley, Southwark and Lambeth areas are also affected.
A Synnovis spokesperson said the company has sent a “team of IT experts” to “fully assess” the impact.
The NHS apologized for the disruption and said it was working with the National Cyber Security Agency to understand the impact.
‘Go home and wait’
One patient, Oliver Dowson, aged 70, was scheduled for surgery from 06:00 at the Royal Brompton. He was told by the surgeon at about 12:30 that he could not continue.
“The ward staff didn’t seem to know what had happened, because most of the patients were told to go home and wait for a new day,” he said.
“I have been given a date for next Tuesday and I am crossing my fingers.
“It’s not the first time they’ve cancelled, but maybe it was a lack of staff during the half week.”
Vanessa Welham from Streatham, south-west London, said her husband’s blood test at Gracefield Gardens health center was canceled on Monday evening.
“My husband received a text message last night suggesting that his appointment this morning has been canceled due to circumstances beyond their control, and that all major hospitals in south London are unable to take books indefinitely.
“He went on the Swift website and made a new appointment – the first available was June 17th, but that’s probably doubtful.”
‘I’m so sorry’
A spokeswoman for NHS England London confirmed that Synnovis was the victim of a cyberware attack.
“Emergency care is still available, so patients should receive services as usual, and patients should continue to attend appointments unless told otherwise,” they said.
“We will continue to provide information on the impact of services and how patients can continue to receive the care they need.”
A Synnovis spokesman said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience and inconvenience this has caused to patients, service users and anyone else affected.
“We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact and will keep in touch with local NHS services to keep people informed of developments.”
‘Hard reminder’
The spokesman added that it had “invested heavily” in “ensuring that our IT arrangements are as secure as they can be”.
“This is a sad reminder that this kind of attack can happen to anyone at any time, and that, sadly, the people who support it have no qualms about the impact their actions can have. who.
“This incident has been reported to law enforcement and the Information Commissioner, and we are working with the National Cyber Security Agency and the Cyber Operations Team.”
The incident is believed to have occurred on Monday, meaning some departments are unable to connect to the network.
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported that a senior source said that getting the test results could take “weeks, not days”.
There are urgent recommendations and emergency care in hospitals will be affected as they may not be able to get the results of the blood test quickly, it added.
Are you affected by the facts mentioned in this story?
#Cyberattack #London #hospitals #marked #critical #incident #BBC #News