IT systems at Peterborough GP surgeries shut-down after NHS cyber-attack

Health news from the Peterborough Telegraph - peterboroughtoday.co.uk

Although no hospitals in the county were affected by last Friday’s attack, the decision to close the IT systems was taken as a precautionary measure.

A spokesperson for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group said; “Locally, the NHS has continued to treat patients throughout the weekend.

“None of our local hospitals were directly affected by the cyber-attack, although a number of precautionary actions were put in place over the weekend. If you have a hospital appointment you should still attend unless you are contacted and told not to.

“As a precautionary measure IT systems were shut-down at all GP practices across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough on Friday but are expected to be reconnected this morning.

“GP surgeries are open as usual today and if you have an appointment you should still attend unless contacted by your surgery and told not to.

“Bearing in mind the impact of the global cyber-attack, we would urge people to be patient with NHS staff who may still be dealing with disruption on Monday.

“People should continue to use the NHS wisely and patients can seek help and advice from a range of other sources, such as pharmacies or calling NHS 111.”

In England, 47 NHS trusts reported problems at hospitals and 13 NHS organisations in Scotland were affected by the virus, which led to some hospitals cancelling treatments and appointments and diverting ambulances to other sites.

The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough City Hospital, Stamford and Rutland Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, was not hit by the attack, but it temporarily took its website down as a precautionary measure.

The WannaCry ransomware attack - which locks computer systems and demands a $300 payment to allow access to them - affected machines in 150 countries, including companies such as FedEx and Renault.

Dr Anne Rainsberry, NHS incident director, said: “The NHS has continued to treat patients throughout the weekend. We have been working with 47 organisations providing urgent and emergency care who have been infected to varying degrees.

“Most have found ways of working around this but seven, including St Barts in London, have asked for extra support.

“If you have a hospital appointment you should still attend unless you are contacted and told not to.

“We have also been offering advice and assistance to GP surgeries, who will open as usual tomorrow. Again, if you have an appointment you should still attend unless contacted and told not to.

“People should continue to use the NHS wisely and remember that they can seek help and advice from a range of other sources, such as pharmacies and NHS 111.

“Bearing in mind the impact of the global cyber-attack I would urge people to be patient with staff.”