Autumn date to fix blood transfusion services

Blood testing partnership Synnovis has warned that its hacked blood transfusion services may not be fully functioning again until the autumn.

Its systems fell victim to ransomware hackers and the pathology partnership says, external it has rebuilt many of the 60 which were affected.

The hackers made systems unusable unless a payment was received and caused significant disruption, with hundreds of operations and thousands of appointments cancelled.

Synnovis said the blood transfusion services would "continue to be stabilised over the summer".

The situation is also part of the reason the NHS made an urgent appeal for blood donors after warning stocks had dropped to "unprecedently low" levels.

Synnovis is a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospitals NHS Trust and Synlab, a commercial testing firm.

It said more of its laboratories could now be reconnected to systems that enabled the service to receive test orders and return results electronically.

Core chemistry and haematology services have been restored at King’s College and Princess Royal University Hospitals, with Guy’s and St Thomas’, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals to follow "in days". As a result it expected "to be able to increase the numbers and types of tests shortly".

Dr Chris Streather, medical director for NHS London, welcomed the news but said: “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." He said the delay in restoring blood transfusion services meant "that there will be a continued impact on planned operations and a need for hospitals to help each other by taking patients where needed".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 26 July 2024