Three hospitals in Merseyside have been targeted in a cyber attack, causing disruptions across multiple NHS services. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, and Royal Liverpool University Hospital confirmed the breach on Thursday, adding to the earlier cyber attack on Wirral’s Arrowe Park Hospital.
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, a prominent children’s hospital in Liverpool, reported that it was investigating the breach, which it said had affected multiple hospitals in the region. The trust warned that the cyber attackers might release stolen data before the investigation was complete, heightening concerns among patients and staff.
“We are continuing to take this issue very seriously while investigations continue into whether the attacker has obtained confidential data,” the trust said in a statement. “As soon as we are able to update on the impact to people’s data, we will provide a further update.”
Despite the breach, the trust assured the public that hospital services had not been disrupted, and it had taken immediate action to secure its systems, preventing any further unauthorized access. However, screenshots of data claimed to be taken in the attack were published online by the hackers, further increasing anxiety about the safety of personal information.
The incident comes after Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, which manages Arrowe Park Hospital, was targeted in a cyber attack on November 25. The breach led to significant disruption in hospital services, including long wait times in the emergency department and canceled appointments. The Trust declared a major incident at the time, warning patients of delays as it worked to recover its systems.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust has since downgraded the situation to a “business continuity incident” but admitted that some services would continue to be affected as the restoration of clinical systems progresses. Emergency treatment remains a priority, but patients were warned to expect longer-than-usual waiting times in emergency departments and assessment areas.
In a statement, the Trust urged patients with non-urgent concerns to use NHS 111, walk-in centers, urgent treatment centers, GPs, or pharmacies, to help alleviate pressure on emergency services. “Some services will continue to be affected this week as systems are restored,” the spokesperson added.
The ongoing cyber attack has prompted a response from Merseyside Police, which is collaborating with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to assist affected hospitals. The coordinated efforts aim to help track down the perpetrators and mitigate the damage caused by the attack.
As investigations continue, NHS officials are under mounting pressure to assure the public that their data remains secure. The situation underscores the growing threat of cyber crime targeting essential services like healthcare, with hospitals increasingly at risk of sophisticated cyber attacks.
Authorities are urging anyone with concerns about the security of their personal information to monitor their accounts and report any suspicious activity. While the scale of the breach is still unclear, the ongoing efforts to restore services in the affected hospitals highlight the resilience of the NHS in the face of growing cyber threats.
