Two London hospital trusts have been forced to cancel all non-emergency operations and blood tests following a “major” cyberattack. Pathology systems at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, as well as GP services across South London, have been hit by a ransomware attack , according to emails seen by The Independent . Synnovis, the company that supplies blood tests, swabs, bowel tests and other services for hospitals serving NHS patients across six London boroughs, warned the two NHS trusts on Monday that it had been hit by a major malware attack, the consequences of which have affected tens of thousands of patients, according to sources close to the hospitals.
The supplier covers Guy’s Hospital, which runs the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, as well as Harefield Hospital, King’s College Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital. In a second email on Tuesday, seen by The Independent , it confirmed it had been hit by a ransomware attack. GPs have been told to cancel all non-emergency pathology appointments, while hospital staff have been told to request emergency blood samples only from patients who require transfusions.
The National Cyber Security Centre is now involved, while NHS England has declared a level three incident – the second-highest alert level. In a message to staff on Monday, Guy’s and St Thomas ’ said: “Synnovis, the pathology .
