NHS issues urgent plea for blood donation after cyber attack

Following the cyber attack on major London hospitals, they are struggling to match patient’s blood types quickly which is having an impact on blood transfusions.

The cyber attack had a “major impact” on services across Guys’s St Thomas’, King College Hospital and the Royal Brompton.

Synnovis formed a partnership with St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and SynLab UK & Ireland.

According to Synnovis website, they are “one of the largest pathology service providers in the UK” and they provide “fast testing services and state-of-the-art laboratories”

Several senior sources told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) confirmed the ransomware attack, one said instead of “days” pathology results will now take “weeks.”

NHS Blood and Transport are appealing for O-Positive and O-Negative donors to make appointments at on of London’s 25 donor centres.

Dr Gail Miflin, NHS Blood and Transplant chief medical officer, said: “To support London hospitals to carry out more surgeries and to provide the best care we can for all patients, we need more O-Negative and O-Positive donors than usual.

“Please book an urgent appointment to give blood at one of our 25 town and city donor centres which currently have good appointment availability.

“We have availability for donors who know they are type O but we also welcome new donors who don’t yet know their blood type.

“You might have one of these special types that can be used in emergencies.”

Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, said: “NHS staff are continuing to go above and beyond to minimise the significant disruption to patients following the ransomware cyber attack on Synnovis earlier this week.

“Urgent and emergency services are available as usual so patients should access services in the normal way by dialling 999 in an emergency and otherwise use NHS 111 through the NHS App, online or on the phone.

But unfortunately, we know that a number of operations and appointments have been postponed or diverted to other neighbouring hospitals not impacted by the cyber-attack, as we prioritise pathology services for the most clinically urgent cases.

“To help London staff support and treat more patients, they need access to O-Negative and O-Positive blood, so if one of these is your blood type, please come forward to one of the 13,000 appointments currently available in NHS Blood Donor Centres.”