Procedures cancelled after cyber attack affects major London hospitals

Published

11 months ago

June 5, 2024

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A number of procedures have been cancelled or redirected to other NHS providers after a ransomware attack struck major hospitals in the capital.

King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’, including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and primary care services were hit by the attack on pathology partner Synnovis on Monday.

Synnovis “was the victim of a ransomware cyberattack”, according to chief executive Mark Dollar.

“This has affected all Synnovis IT systems, resulting in interruptions to many of our pathology services,” he said.

The hospitals have declared a “critical incident” which is having a “major impact” on the delivery of services, with blood transfusions particularly affected.

Mr Dollar said the immediate impact is on patients using NHS services within the hospitals, as well as GP services across Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley, Southwark and Lambeth boroughs.

“We are incredibly sorry for the inconvenience and upset this is causing to patients, service users and anyone else affected,” Mr Dollar said.

“We are doing our best to minimise the impact and will stay in touch with local NHS services to keep people up to date with developments.”

Some procedures and operations have been cancelled or have been redirected to other NHS providers as hospital bosses continue to establish what work can be carried out safely.

One patient, Oliver Dowson, 70, was prepared for an operation from 6am on Monday at Royal Brompton when he was told by a surgeon at about 12.30pm that it would not be going ahead.

“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 I am crossing my fingers – it’s not the first time that they have cancelled, they did it on 28 May too, but that was probably staff shortages in half-term week,” he said.

A spokesperson for NHS England London region said the attack was having a “significant impact” on services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and primary care services in south-east London.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this is causing to patients and their families.”

Emergency care continues and patients should still attend appointments unless told otherwise, the spokesperson said.

They said they would continue updating patients on the impact and how they can still access care, and are working with the government’s National Cyber Security Centre to understand what happened.

The cyber incident meant some departments could not connect to their main server.

A senior source told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) gaining access to pathology results could take “weeks, not days”.

“Non-essential transfusions were paused when the incident emerged,” Sky News’ science and technology editor Tom Clarke reported.

“Anyone needing emergency transfusions, they’re having to proceed with pen and paper, as I understand it. Obviously, that will slow down the matching of blood and things like that.”

There are suggestions urgent and emergency care at the hospitals will be affected as they may not be able to access quick-turnaround blood test results.

Synnovis was formed from a partnership between SYNLAB UK & Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

It describes itself as “one of the largest pathology service providers in the UK” and aims to improve patient outcomes through “faster testing services and state-of-the-art laboratories”, according to its website.

Mr Dollar said Synnovis takes cyber security “very seriously” and the attack could happen to “anyone”.

“This is a harsh reminder that this sort of attack can happen to anyone at any time and that, dispiritingly, the individuals behind it have no scruples about who their actions might affect,” he said.

“The NHS is in a difficult situation in the face of prolific threats, exacerbated by recent IT budget cuts, and it is now at its most vulnerable to cyberattack,” Deryck Mitchelson, from cyber security firm Check Point, told Sky News.

“The healthcare sector is one of the most targeted industries globally with an average organisation facing more than 2,140 cyber attacks per week.

“The NHS holds a huge volume of valuable personal identifiable information that could fetch a big price tag if sold on the dark web, so it is important that we understand what has been extracted to fully appreciate the scale of the potential breach,” he said.

There have been a number of recent attacks on NHS groups.

Last month, a ransomware group released stolen patient data onto the dark web after an attack on NHS Dumfries and Galloway in March.

Julie White, chief executive of NHS Dumfries and Galloway, branded it an “utterly abhorrent criminal act”.

“We should not be surprised at this outcome, as this is in line with the way these criminal groups operate,” she said.

The health board is urging the public to be alert for any attempts to access their work and personal data.

A government spokesperson said: “Patient safety is our priority and the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the National Cyber Security Centre are working together to investigate impacts from a cyber incident affecting a pathology provider.

“Support is being provided to the company and we are working with them to minimise the impact on services for a number of NHS organisations in South East London.”

UK

Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

All 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a boy died in a fire have been released on police bail, officers said.

Layton Carr, 14, was found dead near the site of a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area of Gateshead on Friday.

Northumbria Police said on Saturday that they had arrested 11 boys and three girls in connection with the incident.

In an update on Sunday, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: “All those arrested have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”

Firefighters raced to the industrial site shortly after 8pm on Friday, putting out the blaze a short time later.

Police then issued an appeal for Carr, who was believed to be in the area at that time.

In a statement on Saturday, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.

David Thompson, headteacher of Hebburn Comprehensive School, where Layton was a pupil, said the school community was “heartbroken”.

Mr Thompson described him as a “valued and much-loved member of Year 9” and said he would be “greatly missed by everyone”.

He added that the school’s “sincere condolences” were with Layton’s family and that the community would “rally together to support one another through this tragedy”.

A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.

Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”

One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”

She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.

They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.

A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.

UK

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed with brain conditions, under proposals set to be considered by MPs.

Campaigners are drafting amendments to the Football Governance Bill, which would treat conditions caused by heading balls as an “industrial injuries issue”.

The proposals seek to require the football industry to provide the necessary financial support.

Campaigners say existing support is not fit for purpose, including the Brain Health Fund which was set up with an initial £1m by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), supported by the Premier League.

But the Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees.

From England‘s 1966 World Cup-winning team, both Jack and Bobby Charlton died with dementia, as did Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles.

Ex-players, including former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, went to parliament last week to lobby MPs.

Ruddock told Sky News he had joined campaigners “for the families who’ve gone through hell”.

“A professional footballer, greatest job in the world, but no one knew the dangers, and that’s scary,” he said.

“Every time someone heads a ball it’s got to be dangerous to you. You know, I used to head 100 balls a day in training. I didn’t realise that might affect my future.”

A study co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association (FA) in 2019 found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than members of the public of the same age.

‘In denial’

Among those calling on football authorities to contribute towards the care costs of ex-players who have gone on to develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia is Labour MP Chris Evans.

Mr Evans, who represents Caerphilly in South Wales, hopes to amend the Bill to establish a care and financial support scheme for ex-footballers and told a recent event in parliament that affected ex-players “deserve to be compensated”.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who helped to draft the amendment, said the game was “in denial about the whole thing”.

Mr Burnham called for it to be seen as “an industrial injuries issue in the same way with mining”.

In January, David Beckham lent his support to calls for greater support for footballers affected by dementia.

One of the amendments says that “the industry rather than the public should bear the financial burden”.

A spokesperson for the FA said it was taking a “leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game” and that it had “already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors”.

An English Football League spokesperson said it was “working closely with other football bodies” to ensure both professional and grassroots football are “as safe as it can be”.

The PFA and Premier League declined to comment.

UK

Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

These are two separate and unrelated investigations by counter-terror officers.

But the common thread is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.

And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.

Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.

He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.

“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.

The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.

The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.

“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.

“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.

“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”

As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.

So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Those powers are apparently being put to use.