Cyberattack on London laboratory service provider: clinics need blood donations
After a cyberattack on a pathology service provider, London clinics are struggling. The British healthcare system is asking for blood donations.
Blood is a scarce commodity. Even more so after a cyberattack on a laboratory service provider for clinics in London.
(Image: Elnur/Shutterstock.com)
The cyberattack on the London pathology service provider Synnovis is continuing to cause "significant disruption" and is putting patients at risk, according to a statement from the National Health Service (NHS). One major problem is that the affected hospitals are unable to meet patients' blood requirements. The disruptions are expected to continue until the end of the week. However, emergency services are still available as usual.
According to Bloomberg, employees are therefore being called upon to donate blood. According to the BBC, medical students at St Thomas' Hospital are being asked to work 10-hour shifts. They are also expected to serve as errand boys and deliver blood test results. Cancer patients were also sent home without treatment. Organ transplants have also been canceled. "Unfortunately, we know that several operations and appointments have been postponed", regrets Professor Stephen Powis, Medical Director of NHS England. These now have to take place in neighboring hospitals that are not affected by the cyberattack, explains Powis.
Group 0 blood donations in demand
However, according to Dr. Gail Miflin, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Blood and Transplant, London hospitals need more Group 0 RhD-positive and 0 RhD-negative blood donations to perform more operations and "provide the best possible care to all patients". He hopes that potential blood donors will book an appointment at one of the 25 donor centers. "Maybe you have one of these special types that can be used in emergencies", says Miflin.
If things have to be done quickly, and you can't wait for the patient's blood type to be determined, blood type 0 is helpful. "Patient safety is our absolute priority. If hospitals don't know a patient's blood type or can't match their blood, it's safe to use group zero blood", explains Miflin.
Doctors' surgeries also affected
The attack has affected medical practices that rely on Synovis' laboratory services. Synnovis offers blood tests, smears and other diagnostic services, among other things. According to Synnovis itself, all IT systems are impacted by the attack. IT experts are currently working with the NHS to assess the impact of the attack and "take necessary action [...] to minimize the impact on patients […]". Synnovis said it has reported the incident to law enforcement agencies and relevant data protection authorities.
Other Synnovis customers are also affected – such as the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals, the largest specialist heart and lung centers in the UK. The ransomware-as-a-service group "Qilin" (formerly known as "Agenda") is suspected, but there is currently no entry for the attack on Qilin's data leak page. There are no further details or statements as to when the systems will work again or whether data has been leaked.
A doctor in south London told Bloomberg that local surgeries used to order up to 10,000 blood samples a day for testing, but now only 400 a day can be requested. Routine blood tests for patients with conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease could therefore only be evaluated with a delay.
(mack)