London pathology services provider Synnovis is continuing to recover services following the cyber attack on 3 June.
Synnovis says that since the attack, every available resource has been dedicated to delivering largely manual interim solutions in parallel with the rebuild of over 60, interconnected IT systems and the phased restoration of service capacity. It has now rebuilt substantial parts of its systems, meaning more hospital-based services (core chemistry and haematology services, including coagulation studies) are either now restored or planned to be restored over the coming week. This will mean that significantly more test orders and results can be received electronically. The new systems are still being tested and capacity will improve gradually as systems are rolled out at each site.
Blood transfusion services will continue to be stabilised over the summer, with full restoration anticipated by early Autumn. This means that, while the progress on routine blood tests is welcome, mutual aid (where health services help each other by taking patients) will continue to be required for planned operations and transplants to minimise the ongoing impact on patients
The data for the seventh week after the attack (15-21 July) show that across the two most affected Trusts, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, 1,122 acute outpatient appointments and 46 elective procedures had to be postponed because of the attack. This means so far 1,608 elective procedures and 8,349 acute outpatient appointments have been postponed at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Chris Streather, Medical Director for NHS London, said: “Synnovis has now rebuilt substantial parts of its IT infrastructure, which is very welcome progress. It will take further time for this to roll out but we will soon start to see faster turnaround times for most routine blood tests. I want to thank all staff who continue to work tirelessly in difficult circumstances to make sure our patients receive the care they need. We are not expecting blood transfusion services to be restored until autumn, meaning that there will be a continued impact on planned operations and a need for hospitals to help each other by taking patients where needed. Despite the challenges, most services are now working at near-normal levels, including in outpatients, day cases and non-elective care.”