UPDATE 24th June 2024:
On 3 June, Synnovis, a pathology laboratory which processes blood tests on behalf of a number of NHS organisations, primarily in South East London, was the victim of a cyber attack.
NHS England has been made aware that the cyber criminal group published data which they are claiming belongs to Synnovis and was stolen as part of this attack.
We understand that people may be concerned by this and we are continuing to work with Synnovis, the National Cyber Security Centre and other partners to determine the content of the published files as quickly as possible. This includes whether it is data extracted from the Synnovis system, and if so whether it relates to NHS patients. There is a page of frequently asked questions which can provide more information.
As more information becomes available through Synnovis’ full investigation, the NHS will continue to update patients and the public here (guidance on cyber security is also available through this link).
The attack is being investigated by law enforcement agencies.
UPDATE 21st June 2024:
NHS organisations across London continue to work in partnership to manage patient care following the ransomware cyber-attack on Synnovis earlier this month.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust remain in a critical incident, while Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Bromley Healthcare, and primary care services in South East London continue to be impacted.
NHS staff are working around the clock to minimise disruption to patient care following the ransomware cyber-attack on Synnovis.
Unfortunately, some operations and procedures continue to be postponed, the majority of routine pathology tests have been postponed in primary care services in South East London.
Synnovis has informed us that a significant number of tests undertaken since 3 June have been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience and uncertainty caused by this. We will contact you if your test has been cancelled and needs repeating. Please note, however, that if your test is non-urgent or routine, all phlebotomy appointments for clinics which feed into Synnovis services have been postponed until the end of June. We will provide a further update as soon as one is available.
We apologise to all those who have been impacted and staff will work hard to rearrange appointments and treatments as quickly as possible.
Urgent and emergency services are available as usual so patients should access services in the normal way by dialling 999 in an emergency and otherwise use NHS 111 through the NHS App, online or on the phone.
If you have not heard from your healthcare provider, please attend appointments as normal as services including outpatients and community services are mostly running as usual, including cervical screening.
UPDATE 6th June 2024:
NHS organisations across London continue to work in partnership to manage patient care following the ransomware cyber-attack on Synnovis earlier this week.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust remain in a critical incident, while Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Bromley Healthcare, and primary care services in South East London continue to be impacted.
Chris Streather, Medical Director for NHS England London, said:
“NHS staff are working around the clock to minimise disruption to patient care following the ransomware cyber-attack on Synnovis earlier this week. Pathology services at the impacted sites are available – albeit at a reduced capacity – with the most urgent cases being prioritised. Unfortunately, some non-urgent operations and procedures including transplants continue to be postponed, while nearly all non-urgent blood tests have been postponed in primary care services in South East London.
We are sorry to all those who have been impacted and staff will work hard to re-arrange appointments and treatments as quickly as possible.
Urgent and emergency services are available as usual so patients should access services in the normal way by dialling 999 in an emergency and otherwise use NHS 111 through the NHS App, online or on the phone.
If you have not heard from your healthcare provider, please attend appointments as normal as services including outpatients and community services are mostly running as usual, including cervical screening."
3rd June 2024
On Monday 3rd June 2024, Synnovis, a provider of laboratory testing services, was the victim of a ransomware cyber attack.
This is having a significant impact on the delivery of services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and primary care services in south east London and we apologise for the inconvenience this is causing to patients and their families.
Emergency care continues to be available, so patients should access services in the normal way by dialling 999 in an emergency and otherwise using 111, and patients should continue to attend appointments unless they are told otherwise.
We will continue to provide updates for local patients and the public about the impact on services and how they can continue to get the care they need. The attack is impacting testing; blood tests are one example of tests which are severely impacted. If you have an appointment for one or more of these, it may be cancelled or rearranged. We are currently unable to carry out any blood tests at the practice.