Procedures canceled after cyber attack hits south London hospitals – South London News

Major south London hospitals have declared a critical incident after a cyber attack led to several procedures and operations being canceled and emergency patients diverted elsewhere.

Services at King’s College Hospital, Guys’ and St Thomas’ – including Evelina London’s Children’s Hospital – as well as Gracefield Gardens and Tessa Jowell Health Centre, are among those affected.

The major incident applies to hospitals partnering with Synnovis – a pathology service provider – which was the victim of a ransomware attack on Monday, a spokeswoman for NHS England confirmed.

Letters sent to NHS staff said the “critical incident” had a “major impact” on service delivery, with blood transfusions particularly affected, according to Sky News.

Some procedures and operations have been canceled or diverted to other NHS providers as hospital chiefs continue to work out what activities can be carried out safely.

In accordance with Journal of the Health Service (HSJ), the system was the victim of a ransomware attack. In a post on X, HSJ editor Alistair McLellan said “thousands” of pathology results were “held for ransom”.

Synnovis is a partnership between SYNLAB UK and Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, providing services to the NHS as well as to clinical and other service users.

A spokesperson for NHS England London region said: “On Monday, Synnovis was the victim of a ransomware cyber attack.

“This has a significant impact on service delivery at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and primary care services in South East London and we apologize for the inconvenience this causes patients and their families .

“Emergency care continues to be available so patients should access services as normal, dialing 999 in an emergency and using 111 otherwise, and patients should continue to attend appointments unless told to otherwise. We will continue to provide updates to local patients and the public about the impact on services and how they can continue to receive the care they need.

“We are working urgently to understand the full impact of the incident, with the support of the government’s National Cyber ​​Security Center and our cyber operations team.”

Top image: King’s College Hospital (Image: Google Street View)

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