Since the cyber attack on Synnovis on June 3, 2024, more than 1,134 elective procedures and 2,194 outpatient appointments have been postponed at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
NHS England London has confirmed these numbers in its latest update on the impact of the ransomware attack on pathology services in south east London. During the second week of the attack (10-16 June), over 1,294 outpatient appointments and 320 elective procedures, which included 111 cancer treatments, were postponed across the two affected trusts. Additionally, 46 organs were diverted for use by other hospitals.
The cyber attack has significantly reduced the processing and reporting of tests, affecting clinical teams. Dr. Chris Streather, medical director for NHS London, stated that while some services are operating close to normal levels and elective procedures are decreasing, the impact on NHS services in south east London persists.
Following a regional incident declared by NHS London, coordinated efforts are being made to manage the disruption with the involvement of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Bromley Healthcare, and primary care services in south east London.
South east London pathology services are currently operating at about 30% of normal capacity, showing improvement from the previous week. The cyber criminal group Qilin recently published patient data on the dark web, prompting investigations by NHSE and Synnovis to verify its authenticity and determine its relevance to NHS patients.
As a result of the cyber incident, NHS Blood and Transplant urgently calls for O Positive and O Negative blood donors to make appointments to boost blood stocks.
