Critical incident: Cyber ​​attack affects major London hospitals

Memos sent to NHS staff at King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ (including the Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s Hospital) and primary care services in the capital said pathology partner Synnovis had been affected by a “serious IT incident”.

Synnovis is a provider of pathology services and was formed through a partnership between SynLab UK & Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The memos said the “critical incident” had had a “significant impact” on the delivery of services, particularly affecting blood transfusions.

Some procedures and operations have been cancelled or transferred to other NHS providers as hospital management continues to assess what work can be carried out safely.

One of the patients, Oliver Dowson, 70, was being prepared for surgery at the Royal Brompton from 6am on Monday 3 June when a surgeon told him at around 12.30pm that the operation could not go ahead.

He told the PA news agency: “Ward staff did not seem to know what had happened. Many patients were just told to go home and wait for a new appointment.”

“I got an appointment for next Tuesday and I’m keeping my fingers crossed – it’s not the first time they’ve cancelled, it happened on May 28th, but that was probably due to a lack of staff during the half-time week.”

A spokesman for King’s College Hospital in London confirmed that it was affected by the attack.

All hospitals were asked for a statement.

According to the Health Service Journal (HSJ), several senior sources have said the system has fallen victim to a ransomware attack.

One said accessing pathology results could take “weeks, not days.”

There is evidence that urgent and emergency care in hospitals will be affected as they may not have access to short-term blood test results.

In 2021, it was announced that SynLab would partner with the NHS to provide pathology services in hospitals and GP surgeries across South East London.

The Pathology Service serves not only King’s, Guys’ and St Thomas’, but also the South London and Maudsley and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trusts, as well as a number of GP practices, clinics and other community services in the boroughs of Bromley, Lambeth and Southwark.

Pathology services help diagnose and treat diseases and infections by analyzing samples, including blood and tissue.