Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital and Grantham Hospital have all been affected by today’s cyber-attack on the NHS, it has been announced.
A number of hospitals in England and Scotland have been affected by a ransomware attack, which sees computers display a message demanding payment to decrypt information.
A statement by NHS England, published earlier, said the organisation does not have ‘any evidence that patient data has been accessed’.
Mark Brassington, Cheif Operating Officer at the United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust, said ‘all IT systems and many phone lines’ within the hospitals have been switched off in response to the incident.
He said: “Departments are taking action to ensure patient care is prioritised.
“We will be diverting some emergency cases to local hospitals which are not affected by the attack, where possible.
“We do not yet know how long this incident will last, and therefore are cancelling all outpatient, endoscopy, cardiology and radiology appointments scheduled for this weekend.”
The trust is asking all patients to only come to A&Es in the county if ‘absolutely necessary’.