Two major London hospital trusts have canceled all non-emergency operations and blood tests due to a significant cyber attack.
According to The Independent, these ransomware attack has affected the pathology systems at Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Foundation Trusts, impacting GP services across South London.
The supplier Synnovis, responsible for blood tests, swabs, and other services for the hospitals, reported a major malware attack on Monday.
This affects six hospitals, including Guy’s Hospital, Harefield Hospital, King’s College Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, and St Thomas’ Hospital.
Following the attack, GPs have been instructed to cancel all non-emergency pathology appointments.
Meanwhile, hospital staff have been told to only request emergency blood samples for patients needing transfusions.
The National Cyber Security Centre is involved, and National Health Service (NHS) England has declared a level three incident, the second-highest alert level.
The cyber attack has affected transplants, as blood tests cannot be cross-checked, and healthcare leaders warn the situation could take weeks or months to resolve.
They also mentioned that this type of attack can happen to anyone and that the attackers have no scruples.
A government spokesperson said, "The Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the National Cyber Security Centre are working together to investigate a cyber incident affecting a number of NHS organisations in South East London. Patient safety is our priority and support is being offered to the impacted organisations."
Furthermore, a spokesperson for NHS England London region said, "On Monday 3 June Synnovis, a provider of lab services, was the victim of a ransomware cyber attack. We apologise for the inconvenience this is causing to patients and their families."
The statement further added, "We are working urgently to fully understand the impact of the incident with the support of the government’s National Cyber Security Centre and our Cyber Operations team."
