GP fears patients will suffer harm after NHS cyber attack
A GP hit by a cyber attack on the NHS in London has told Sky News he is worried patients will suffer long and short-term harm.
The health service has launched an urgent appeal for O blood-type donors following last Monday’s ransomware attack that has affected some of the largest hospitals in the capital.
Six large NHS Trusts were impacted including hospitals such as Guy’s and St Thomas’, Great Ormond Street and King’s College Hospital. Hundreds of operations have already been cancelled.
Dr James Taylor
Dr James Taylor, a partner at the South Street Medical Centre in Greenwich, southeast London, told Sky News his surgery was told to cancel all routine blood tests last Monday when Synnovis, a company contracted by the NHS to perform blood tests, was targeted by hackers.
He said: “We were informed that the IT systems were down to process our blood results. So we were asked very urgently to cancel all of our blood test appointments. So immediately we had to cancel all our clinics. And they’re still cancelled.
“We are not booking any more patients in. And we’ve been told that we can’t book any more patients in until the end of June. So we’re waiting for an update on that.”
Primary care has also been hit hard. Dr Taylor’s practice alone cares for 10,000 patients. Not one of them can have a routine blood test.
He said: “We all have been told that we can still send urgent results but there’s no way for them to send any of the information to us electronically.
“So yes, we’ve had to kind of alter the way that we work. We’ve had to supervise our staff here and decide what tests we can do and what we can’t do, and that is changing on a daily basis.”
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Qilin, a Russian group of cyber criminals, are understood to have been behind the attack.
Dr Taylor is worried about short and long-term harm to his patients.
He said: “There is a risk. There’s always a risk. This has been going on for about a week now, so hopefully it’s not too much longer because if you keep delaying these investigations by another few weeks or a month, then obviously the risk increases.
“But at the moment where we’re doing our best to manage it and hoping it’s a short-term problem.”
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He added: “We couldn’t go on and not perform blood tests on people. And for blood tests that were perhaps slightly abnormal that we’d want to repeat. Those things are having to be delayed at the moment.”
Dr Taylor’s surgery would normally request around 125 blood tests a week.
With up to four investigations for each test, that is nearly 1,000 results every week. And that is just in this practice.
In Greenwich, some 300,000 patients have been affected. Across London, that figure is much higher.
Dr Taylor has been told to expect a severe disruption to services at least until the end of the month. Clearing up the backlog and the fallout from this cyber attack will take much longer.
A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.
Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.
The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Paul Doyle
Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.
He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.
The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.
A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.
According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
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New Liverpool incident footage
Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.
Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA
‘Huge volume of evidence’
Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
Police ‘working tirelessly’
Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”
The youngest victim injured in the Liverpool parade crash on Monday is nine years old, police have said.
They added that the oldest is 78, with all 79 people injured understood to be British. Seven remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Merseyside Police declined to say what drug the 53-year-old man arrested over the incident is alleged to have taken.
“We wouldn’t go into this detail at this stage of the investigation,” the force said.
Police at the scene in Liverpool. Pic: AP
Forensic officers in Water Street. Pic: PA
Police are still questioning the driver and were granted further time to do so on Wednesday.
Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.
He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.
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‘My boy in his pram, got bounced’
‘The best day of my life turned into worst’
Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.
The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.
Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.
“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.
He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”
Read more:
How the parade crash unfolded
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Why police released ‘unprecedented’ details
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.
He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
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