IT viruses devastate NHS
By Liz Stephens
NHS computers had more than 8,000 computer viruses in the last financial year, an investigation by More4News has discovered.
The incidents could have been avoided if easily available security updates had been applied and anti-virus systems turned on.
In November last year, a computer virus called the Mytob worm caused havoc in three major London hospitals. It spread so fast that computer networks were overwhelmed.
In Newcastle an incident caused a three week appointments backlog.
Meanwhile in Scotland, one trust had a computer virus that locked staff out of their computers for two days. Fifty-one appointments or radiotherapy sessions had to be rescheduled in the trusts cancer centre.
In all, 75 per cent of trusts replied to More4News, revealing 12 serious incidents that impacted on patient care.
Professor Ross Anderson of the University of Cambridge told More4News: “Where you find infections of computers, it’s very often symptomatic of poor management of IT, just as when you find infections with MRSA and C-difficile, that’s a symptom of poor management of the hospital, of poor management of hygiene and such basic things as cleaning the floors.”
However, it’s not just the risk of hospitals grinding to a halt that’s of concern – confidential patient data could be at risk of being lost or stolen by hackers.
The viruses uncovered by the More4News investigation are also commonly used by hackers to steal personal information.
The government is currently midway through building a £13 billion system which will link medical records across the service.
In a statement, the NHS said the new electronic records system will be “protected by the highest levels of access controls and other security measures”.
But there remain grave concerns that any breach in security in such a joined-up system could have devastating affects across the country.
