A ransomware incident targeting pathology and diagnostic services provider Synnovis has led to significant disruptions in healthcare services across multiple major NHS hospitals in London. While Synnovis has yet to issue a public statement regarding the attack, partner hospitals affected by the incident have described it as an “ongoing critical incident” with a “major impact” on healthcare delivery in southeast London. Emergency care remains operational, but services such as blood transfusions have been severely affected, leading to cancellations and redirections of medical procedures at short notice.
Affected hospitals include King’s College Hospital, Guy’s Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, and Evelina London Children’s Hospital, with patient appointments and surgeries being either canceled or redirected to other healthcare providers due to safety concerns. The impact of the ransomware attack extends beyond immediate healthcare delivery, potentially affecting urgent and emergency care services, as quick-turnaround blood test results are no longer available. NHS UK spokespersons have reassured patients that emergency services remain accessible, urging them to dial 999 in case of emergencies and use the NHS 111 service for non-emergency situations.
Synnovis’ customer service portal alerts users of issues at its data center, indicating that all systems are currently inaccessible. This incident follows a series of ransomware attacks targeting healthcare organizations, including Synlab Italia in late April and the Dumfries & Galloway NHS health board in March. These attacks highlight the persistent threat posed by cybercriminals to healthcare infrastructure and patient data security. Efforts are underway to understand the full impact of the incident, with support from the government’s National Cyber Security Centre and cybersecurity teams.
