Appointments cancelled as Shropshire hospitals hit by cyber attack

Appointments have had to be cancelled at hospitals in Shropshire after a number of computers were affected by the attack.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) today confirmed the virus was detected on some of its computers.

But it said services were running "normal" today and is urging people with appointments to attend.

Sara Biffen, deputy chief operating officer at SaTH, said: “As has been widely reported, on Friday a large number of NHS trusts were affected by a computer virus that was contained in an email attachment. Unfortunately, the virus was detected on a small number of machines at SaTH.

“As a precautionary measure, some of the trust’s systems were suspended briefly in order to reduce any further risk. All of our systems, except for email, are available again.

“Our IT department worked tirelessly to minimise the impact of the virus and to ensure all of our systems were safe to use. No data or information has been lost or compromised.

“A very small number of MRI and CT scanning appointments were cancelled as a precaution whilst systems were down. All other clinics and departments were running over the weekend, although patients may have experienced delays whilst systems were temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

“Services are running as normal today and patients who are due to have appointments at SaTH are asked to attend as normal unless they hear otherwise.

“Our staff were fantastic and responded well to ensure our patients continued to receive the best care possible and I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts over the weekend and our patients for their understanding.”