Experts have warned that patients could be harmed by the lingering disarray at NHS 111 in the wake of the cyber attack.
The service was compromised early this month, leaving 85 percent of the country’s call takers without access to a vital IT system.
Some employees, who were forced to use ink and paper, continue to operate without the damaged software three weeks later.
As a result of Adastra’s hacking, 111 call takers are unable to schedule out-of-hours consultations or deliver urgent medications. During urgent consultations, general practitioners have also lost access to medical records.
Helen Hughes, chief executive officer of the non-profit Patient Safety Learning, told that it will inevitably lead to preventable injury.
It comes as several hospitals continue to urge patients with non-urgent health issues to call NHS 111 instead of going to A&E.
There have been stories of Britons being stranded in ambulances outside of casualty units due to a shortage of capacity, coinciding with the NHS 111 crisis.
This has been exacerbated by the social care crisis, record backlogs, staff shortages, an increase in admissions due to the heatwave, and the lingering consequences of a recent spike in Covid.
Similarly, others have asserted that difficulties in finding general practitioners have pushed desperate Britons seeking answers for health issues to emergency hospitals.
Some trusts have issued cautions ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend urging people to only attend if they are needed.
This morning, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust tweeted, ‘If you can ‘just go later,’ it’s not an emergency.’
If you are uncertain about where to go, call NHS 111 and remain on the line.
Ms. Hughes stated that advising patients to avoid A&E would only be effective if NHS 111 was functioning as intended.
She stated, “Significant delays in receiving a response represent lost opportunities for patients to receive prompt medical advice and treatment that could avoid future injury.”
Delays in receiving prompt care and treatment will undoubtedly lead to preventable patient harm.
NHS 111 is a 24-hour telephone and online medical advice service.
It is intended for usage in situations that are urgent but not life-threatening, or when individuals are uncertain.
A representative for the NHS maintained that the public should continue to utilize its phone lines as necessary.
Advanced, a British company that provides Adastra software to 85 percent of 111 providers, stated that reconnection of 111 services is occurring.
It stated, “We continue to place safety and security at the forefront of all of our decision-making and are tackling this restoration process with diligence and rigor.”
Blackmailers are demanding payment in exchange for not exposing personal information, leaving the NHS without access to essential services.
It is anticipated that medical records and other patient information have been stolen in the incident.
Additionally, hackers compromised the Advanced Care notes EPR program, which contains mental health records.
Affected mental health trusts issued a warning that workers are currently in a “very desperate” situation since they are still unable to access essential patient details.
Before the hacking incident, NHS 111 calls waited 20 times longer than they should have.
July statistics indicate that the average time to answer a call was six and a half minutes.
This is nearly 20 times faster than the NHS standard of 20 seconds to answer a call.
As part of its winter preparations, the NHS recently announced it would hire extra call handlers for the 111 services.
