Several key hospitals in the UK, including King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’, face disruptions following a cyber attack on their pathology services provider, impacting medical procedures and blood transfusions.
Cyber Attack Disrupts Major UK Hospitals
On June 4, 2024, several key hospitals in the UK declared a critical incident due to a significant cyber attack that targeted their pathology services provider, Synnovis. The affected institutions include King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals, as well as the Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Synnovis is a joint enterprise involving SynLab UK & Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
The cyber attack led to the cancellation and redirection of some medical procedures and operations. Notably, the delivery of blood transfusions has been severely impacted. One patient, Oliver Dowson, 70, experienced a cancellation of his operation at Royal Brompton, which had already been delayed previously.
Health Service Journal sources suggest the attack may have involved ransomware, potentially delaying access to pathology results for weeks. Hospitals and NHS trusts across southeast London, including South London and Maudsley and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trusts, are also affected.
UK Border Control to Implement New eGate Technology
Beginning October 6, 2024, UK border control will roll out facial recognition technology at eGates in most major airports, eliminating the need for travelers to present passports or interact with Border Force officers. This initiative aims to streamline the border crossing process. However, concerns have been raised about the technology’s reliability, citing past outages that resulted in significant delays.
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, warned that any technical failures could lead to substantial disruptions, as seen in a nationwide eGate malfunction on May 8, which caused hours-long queues at entry points including Heathrow and Gatwick.
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