Cyber attack hits two England ambulance services

Cyber attack hits two ambulance trusts leaving hospitals without access to electronic patient records

  • Between them, the trusts service an area in England covering 12 million people

Two south England ambulance trusts have been left unable to access electronic patient records after a cyber attack hit a supplier.

The South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT) were both affected by the attack.

SCAS services Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, with non-emergency coverage extending to Surrey and Sussex.

SWAS services Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, the Isles of Scilly and Wiltshire.

An NHS spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We are aware of an incident affecting a small number of ambulance services. 

‘Our Cyber Security Operations Centre is working with affected organisations to investigate, alongside law enforcement colleagues, and supporting suppliers as they work to reconnect the system.’

South Western Ambulance Service attends to incidents in Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, the Isles of Scilly and Wiltshire

General view of the main entrance for the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading

SWASFT told MailOnline the service itself has not had a cyber attack, but a supplier that they use.

They said the only impact patients might feel is a slight delay on handover at hospital, with crews reverting to pencil and paper.

NHS England confirmed that the incident had affected the systems of a third party supplier. 

MailOnline was unable to reach South Central Ambulance Service for comment.

The 999 call system is unaffected and can still be used in case of emergency. 

In August 2022, hackers held an IT firm that supplies NHS trusts to ransom following a cyber attack.

The software company Advanced provides patient data to dozens of trusts and most NHS 111 providers in England.

Call handlers across the country were reliant on pen and paper as they were locked out of vital administrative software.

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