Cyberattack Forces London Hospitals To Cancel Surgeries, Appointments

Several London hospitals have cancelled operations due to a cyberattack on pathology services firm Synnovis, which was hit by ransomware.

 

The firm supplies pathology laboratory services to the hospitals.

 

Synnovis CEO Mark Dollar reported disruptions to pathology services, affecting King’s College, Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital trusts, clinics, and doctors’ practices.

 

The Washington Post reports that the National Health Service (NHS) described the impact as “significant” and “critical,” with blood transfusions particularly affected.

 

NHS England is working with the National Cyber Security Centre to understand the incident’s impact.

 

Patient Oliver Dowson’s operation was cancelled, and he was told to wait for a new date.

 

“The staff on the ward didn’t seem to know what had happened, just that many patients were being told to go home and wait for a new date,” he said. “I’ve been given a date for next Tuesday and am crossing my fingers.”

 

Ransomware attacks, often launched from former Soviet states, are costly and disruptive, and have hit Britain’s health system before, including a 2017 attack that froze hospital computers nationwide.