Major London hospitals, including Guy’s, St Thomas’, and King’s College, have been severely disrupted by a cyber-attack that has forced the cancellation of operations and blood transfusions
These attacks targeted Synnovis, a private company responsible for analysing blood tests for hospitals.
The hospitals affected by the cyber attack
The attack, which began on Monday, has affected seven hospitals under two NHS trusts.
These include Guy’s, St Thomas’, King’s College, Evelina Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton, Harefield Specialist Heart and Lung Hospitals, and Princess Royal Hospital in Orpington, Kent.
As a result, some scheduled childbirths through planned caesarean sections have had to be postponed or redirected to other hospitals.
Impact on Hospital Operations
Hackers put software into Synnovis’s IT system, which locks up computer systems until a ransom is paid. This has led to significant disruptions in the hospitals’ ability to carry out elective operations and blood tests.
Emergency care and outpatient appointments are continuing as normal, but many elective procedures have been cancelled or moved to other facilities.
NHS England has triggered “mutual aid” procedures, where unaffected hospitals in London assist those impacted by the cyber-attack. This ensures that some of the critical work can still proceed, although under challenging circumstances.
The cyber attack targeted Synnovis
The cyber-attack targeted Synnovis, a partnership between the Guy’s and St Thomas’ (GSTT) and King’s College NHS trusts and private firm Synlab. Synnovis provides vital blood test analysis services under contracts worth nearly £1.1 billion.
This incident marks the third cyber-attack on the Synlab group in the past year. Previous attacks have targeted Synlab’s French and Italian subsidiaries, leading to the theft and publication of sensitive data when ransoms were not paid.
Healthcare services are increasingly popular targets for ransomware gangs due to underinvestment in IT infrastructure, making systems vulnerable to attacks. The urgency of maintaining patient health often makes providers restore services quickly, sometimes at a significant cost.
How the NHS will recover from this
The NHS is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre to understand the full impact of the attack and restore services. A spokesperson from Synnovis stated that a taskforce of IT experts has been deployed to assess the damage and address the issue.
Primary care services across Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley, Southwark, and Lambeth have also felt the impact, with GP services being affected.
The NHS has apologised for the inconvenience caused and is striving to mitigate the effects of this disruptive cyber-attack. Patients are advised to check with their healthcare providers for updates on appointments and procedures.
