Sign Up for Exclusive Health News and Insights Email

Two major London hospital trusts, Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Foundation Trusts, along with GP services across South London, have canceled all non-emergency operations and blood tests due to a significant cyber attack. The attack, identified as ransomware, was directed at Synnovis, a supplier of various pathology services for hospitals serving NHS patients across six London boroughs. This incident has impacted tens of thousands of patients, causing delays in receiving test results and forcing GPs to cancel all non-urgent blood tests.
The cyber attack was first reported to the affected NHS trusts by Synnovis on Monday, with confirmation of its ransomware nature following on Tuesday. The attack has severely disrupted hospital services, including emergency blood samples which are now only being requested for patients requiring transfusions. Transplants have also been affected as the necessary blood tests for crosschecking cannot be performed.
The situation is described as “evolving,” with the full extent of the disruption still unclear. The incident has been reported to law enforcement, the Information Commissioner, and is being investigated with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre and the Cyber Operations Team. The Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and the National Cyber Security Centre are collaboratively working to address the cyber incident and mitigate its impact on patient services.
NHS England has apologized for the inconvenience caused to patients and their families, ensuring that emergency care remains available. The government and NHS England are actively working to fully understand and resolve the incident, emphasizing patient safety as a priority.