Russian cyber attack on hospitals ‘contributed to patient death’

A patient death linked to a ransomware attack on hospital blood services is a “reminder of the threat Russia poses to our day-to-day life”, Government officials have said.

King’s College Hospital, in south London, said that a patient died “unexpectedly” during the cyber attack.

And an investigation into the death found a “number of contributing factors” including a “long wait for a blood test result due to the cyber attack”.

Pathology services provider Synnovis was the victim of a ransomware attack by a Russian cyber gang in June last year.

As a result more than 10,000 appointments were cancelled at the two London NHS trusts that were worst affected.

And a significant number of GP practices in London were unable to order blood tests for their patients.

A King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “One patient sadly died unexpectedly during the cyber-attack.

“As is standard practice when this happens, we undertook a detailed review of their care.

“The patient safety incident investigation identified a number of contributing factors that led to the patient’s death.

“This included a long wait for a blood test result due to the cyber attack impacting pathology services at the time.

“We have met with the patient’s family, and shared the findings of the safety investigation with them.”

Earlier this month health officials confirmed that 170 patients have suffered harm as a result of the attack.

Mark Dollar, chief executive of Synnovis, said: “We are deeply saddened to hear that last year’s criminal cyber attack has been identified as one of the contributing factors that led to this patient’s death.

“Our hearts go out to the family involved.”

A Government spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies are with the family of the patient.

“This tragedy is a reminder of the threat Russia poses to our day-to-day life and how serious the consequences of these attacks can be to our critical infrastructure.”