Hundreds of surgeries and appointments canceled in the week following cyber attack on the NHS

The scale of disruption caused by a cyberattack on pathology services provider Synnovis has been revealed.

NHS England London says hundreds of elective surgeries and outpatient appointments have had to be postponed in two of London’s worst-hit NHS trusts.

Officials also warned that disruption would be felt “for some time.”

Synnovis fell victim to a ransomware attack believed to have been carried out by the Russian group Qilin on June 3.

Its ability to process and report blood tests was severely limited.

At the time, health leaders said there had been a “significant impact” at King’s College Hospital, Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital – including the Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s Hospitals – and GP practices in south-east London.

Between June 3 and 9, the first week after the attack, over 800 scheduled surgeries and 700 outpatient appointments were postponed across the two most affected trusts – King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

In a joint statement, Professor Ian Abbs, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor Clive Kay, Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘The cyber attack has had a significant impact on our services and is likely to continue to do so for some time.

“Despite the enormous efforts of our staff and support from partners across London to continue caring for patients, we have had to postpone a number of surgeries and appointments, but we are working to reschedule them as soon as possible.

“We fully recognize the distress that any delay in care may cause to our patients and their families and we are very sorry for this. In the meantime, we urge patients to attend their scheduled appointments as scheduled unless contacted.”

Dr Chris Streather, medical director of NHS London, added: “The postponement of treatment is distressing for patients and their families, so we apologize to everyone affected and staff will make every effort to reschedule appointments and treatment as soon as possible.” possible.

“While staff are working around the clock to mitigate the impact and Synnovis is working to restore its IT system, we expect disruption to be felt for some time.”

On Monday, an “urgent” nationwide blood drive was launched across England, under which people with “universal” blood can donate it.

People with blood group O are urged to come forward as their blood is safe for most patients.

According to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), more units of this type of blood than usual are needed “over the coming weeks” to keep services running safely for local patients.

To increase supplies, blood donors, both O-positive and O-negative, are encouraged to book appointments at one of the 25 NHS Blood Centers in England.

Jacqueline Totterdell, group chief executive at St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospitals and Health Group, said: “This is where the NHS steps up and it is only with the support of colleagues in other parts of the NHS who support St George’s that we are able to step up. and support others.

“After the cyberattack at St. At George’s, we have seen some of the sickest and most complicated patients, including patients requiring major, life-changing surgery.

“So I thank the many doctors, nurses and other colleagues who are working hard to care for additional patients to ensure there are no further delays in their care.”