Blood transfusions were also disrupted.
Due to a cyberattack, several hospitals in London had to postpone surgeries. Blood transfusions were also interrupted, reported the Health Service Journal (HSJ) on Tuesday, according to the DPA news agency.
The disruption was caused by a “major IT incident” at a company providing diagnostic services to the hospitals, according to internal reports from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), cited by the HSJ. Some surgeries were relocated to other medical facilities.
The cyberattack primarily affected Guy’s and St. Thomas’ hospitals. King’s College Hospital confirmed the incident to the British news agency PA Media.
According to the HSJ report, the attack involved ransomware, where perpetrators encrypt data of companies or public institutions and demand a ransom for decryption. A source indicated that it would take “weeks rather than days” to restore access to the hospitals’ data.
