Wirral Hospital Recovery Continues One Week After Cyber Incident

Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) NHS Trust has downgraded a recent cybersecurity incident from a major incident to a business continuity incident as recovery efforts continue.

Patient services remain disrupted following a cybersecurity incident which occurred on 25 November.

In a statement published on December 4, a WUTH spokesperson said: “We are currently in the process of reinstating our main clinical system following the cyber security incident last week.”

“Some services will continue to be affected this week as systems are restored. Anyone with an outpatients appointment is advised to come to their appointment.”

On November 27, the WUTH revealed that the NHS Trust had detected “suspicious activity” on its network, and as a precaution isolated its systems to ensure that the problem did not spread.

“Emergency treatment is being prioritized but there are still likely to be longer than usual waiting times in our Emergency Department and assessment areas,” the spokesperson’s December 4 statement added.

As part of the hospital’s business continuity processes the NHS Trust was forced to use paper rather than digital services in the areas affected. 

WUTH repeated calls for members of the public to attend the Emergency Department only for genuine emergencies.

In a separate incident, a single cyber-attack has impacted three healthcare organizations including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, and, to a lesser extent, Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that cybercriminals gained unlawful access to data.

Earlier in 2024, over 800 planned operations and 700 outpatient appointments had to be rearranged following a cyber-attack on pathology provider Synnovis. The incident affected King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.