Procedures cancelled as cyber attack hits major London hospitals

A number of hospitals in London have been hit by a cyber attack, forcing procedures to be cancelled and patients to be diverted elsewhere.

Hospitals affected are only those partnered with Synnovis – a provider of pathology services.

The incident has had a “major impact” on services provided by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS trust, including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children's Hospital, its chief executive Ian Abbs has said.

King's College Hospital was also hit by the attack, a spokesperson has confirmed.

GP services across Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley, Southwark and Lambeth boroughs have also been affected. by the incident.

It is understood that blood transfusions and test results have been especially affected by the incident.

The breach is thought to have occurred on Monday, meaning some departments could not connect to Synnovis’s server.

According to the Health Service Journal, several senior sources have told it the system has been the victim of a ransomware attack, with one claiming gaining access to pathology results could take “weeks, not days”.

In the meantime, some procedures and operations have been cancelled or have been redirected to other NHS providers as hospital bosses assess what work is safe to carry out.

The ransomware attack comes a month after a large volume of data stolen from NHS Dumfries and Galloway was leaked to the dark web, following a cyber breach in March.