close
close
hsuses

London hospitals struggle with the consequences of a cyber attack

Theo

Image description, Dr Anneliese Rigby says some processes take “much, much longer”

  • Author, Charles Mercer
  • Role, BBC health correspondent in London

London hospitals are still struggling with the aftermath of a cyberattack that has resulted in many hours of overtime for their staff.

On June 4, a critical incident was reported after the ransomware attack targeted the services of pathology company Synnovis.

There were significant disruptions to care, including blood transfusions, at healthcare facilities such as Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College Hospital (KCH).

That means some processes take “much, much longer,” said Dr. Anneliese Rigby, an anesthesiologist at KCH.

She told BBC London that blood tests that previously took an hour could now take up to six hours because the systems needed to perform them had failed.

“We have no automated system at all,” said Dr. Rigby.

“So the labs have to receive the blood sample and process it manually. It’s a long, time-consuming process that requires a lot of staff, which we don’t have. So we have to hire additional staff to help us with that.”

Dr Rigby said all results would have to be checked twice to account for human error and that when results were available, they would have to be entered into the system “line by line” by two people.

She praised the way employees responded to the cyberattack.

Image description, Geoffrey Bowry had to be transferred for heart surgery

The KCH has had to cancel some of its operations and is operating at about 70% of its capacity; three of 17 operating rooms remain closed.

Some patients who needed urgent surgery had to be transferred to other facilities when the cyberattack occurred last week.

Geoffrey Bowry, 76, is one of 25 heart patients transferred to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, where care was not compromised.

After a heart attack, he urgently needed quadruple bypass surgery.

“The biggest worry is that you might have an even bigger attack,” he told BBC London.

“Fortunately, I was in good care and didn’t have to worry.”

Image description, KCH staff were praised for their response

Dr Rajan Sharma, clinical director of cardiology at St George’s Hospital, said hospitals and ambulance crews had coordinated their work to ensure critical patients were treated at locations unaffected by the cyberattack.

“These surgeries must be performed immediately after diagnosis,” he said.

St. George’s staff have plans to continue assisting hospitals affected by the cyberattack until mid-June and then reassess the situation.

Jacqueline Totterdell, the hospital’s chief executive, said that despite the additional workload, they were able to continue running their own services thanks to support from neighboring healthcare providers.

Image description, St. Thomas was one of the hospitals directly affected by the ransomware attack

An NHS spokesman said: “NHS staff are working around the clock to minimise the significant disruption to patient care following the ransomware cyberattack and we are sorry for everyone affected.”

“Pathology services are an essential part of a broad spectrum of care and we know that many surgeries and appointments have had to be cancelled as a result of this attack.”

The spokesman said the NHS was working to “fully assess” the disruption caused by the attack.

“In the meantime, we continue to advise patients to keep their appointments even if they have not been contacted.”

Related Posts