Three more hospitals hit by cyber attack

Three more hospitals in Merseyside have been targeted by cyber attackers.

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust said itself, the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and Royal Liverpool University Hospital had been affected by the incident on Thursday.

The hospital warned the hackers could release the data before it had had time to investigate.

The incident came after Wirral's Arrowe Park hospital was targeted.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust declared a major incident on 25 November, with patients facing long A&E waits and cancelled appointments,

The Alder Hey trust said its investigation to determine what data has been obtained unlawfully was "still ongoing".

The trust said: "We are continuing to take this issue very seriously while investigations continue into whether the attacker has obtained confidential data.

"As soon as we are able to update on the impact to people’s data, we will provide a further update."

It said screenshots of data the attackers claimed to have taken were published online on Thursday.

The trust said it had now secured the systems to ensure the attackers did not have continued access.

Services were not affected, the hospital said.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust said it was still in the process of recovering some services.

Bosses said the main clinical system was being restored and the incident had now been downgraded to a "business continuity incident".

"Some services will continue to be affected this week as systems are restored," a hospital spokesperson said.

"Emergency treatment is being prioritised but there are still likely to be longer than usual waiting times in our emergency department and assessment areas," they added.

The hospital has asked anyone with an outpatients appointment to come to their appointment as planned.

They repeated calls for people to only attend the emergency department in genuine emergencies.

Those with non-urgent health concerns were asked to use NHS 111, walk-in centres, urgent treatment centres, GPs or pharmacies.

A Merseyside Police spokesperson said they were working with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre "to provide the necessary support and assistance".

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