A heart patient has been left fearing for his health after his life-saving operation was cancelled due to a major cyber attack on London NHS hospitals . Russell Ashley-Smith, 81, is waiting for complex open heart surgery at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, without which he may only have up to two years to live. The Independent revealed more than 200 emergency procedures were cancelled due to the ransomware hack earlier this month .
Mr Ashley-Smith said: “I understand if I don’t [have the operation] it’s terminal. Doctors said you’ll live for one to two years with declining health and become less and less capable of doing things like walking. “I would become more dependent on my wife, and more dependent on being taken somewhere by car if I wanted to go outside.
I would be unable to make music - I play the cello and the piano - all the things I like doing and I don’t want to be a couch potato. “I feel frustration because. I play piano in church but I can’t tell people if, I’m able to play this coming Sunday or the following Sunday because I don’t know when things will be restored.
” The pensioner, who lives in south London, requires two heart valve replacements and a coronary artery bypass to improve blood flow to the heart. Mr Ashley-Smith, who was told he needed surgery in January, said he was “frustrated” at the “heartless” hackers who have targeted NHS patients who need care. He added: “I feel really ashamed when I walk to the end of.
