[T]he majority of IT systems at North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust are back up and running today following the cyber attack which occurred on Friday 12 May, thanks to the hard work of staff throughout the weekend.
The IT team worked around the clock to ensure that the Trust’s 350 servers were back on as quickly as possible at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven in order to ensure minimal disruption to patient care. Clinical teams followed the Trust’s business continuity plans and services have been running as normal, including outpatient appointments and elective surgery with only a small number of exceptions. Non-clinically urgent MRI and CT scans have been postponed to allow the service to focus on emergency cases. Only a small number of Trust computers now remain switched off as a precautionary measure.
Helen Ray, executive chief operating officer at the Trust, said: “I am very proud of the way our staff have responded to the cyber attack. Our IT team have worked continuously to get our systems back up and running as quickly as possible and have achieved this in a short space of time. In addition, our Pathology, Pharmacy and Radiology teams have worked tirelessly all weekend under difficult circumstances.
“I would also like to pay tribute to our clinical staff who followed their business continuity plans without hesitation which meant in some cases, reverting back to using pen and paper. Our staff have really gone above and beyond to ensure we have continued to provide safe services to our patients.
“Our Accident & Emergency departments have been, and continue to be, very busy so I would ask that people avoid attending unless they are seriously ill or injured. If do need to attend A&E, our teams will see you as soon as they possibly can. Some other services may still be running slower than usual so I would like to thank our patients and members of the public for their continued patience and understanding while we get back to normal over the coming days.”
Our NHS partners are also working to recover their systems so please be mindful that they may also be experiencing some disruption.
