According to the Welsh Ambulance Service, the outage is large, widespread, and impacts all four UK nations, although NHS England reports “currently minimal interruption.”
As a result of a “severe” computer system disruption caused by a cyberattack, the NHS 111 service has issued a warning to anybody needing medical assistance.
The security flaw was discovered at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, and it has affected the system used to dispatch ambulances, schedule after-hours appointments, and issue emergency prescriptions.
There is concern that these technical issues may not be entirely rectified until the following week.
According to the Welsh Ambulance Service, the outage is large and widespread, affecting all four UK nations.
Despite having “planned and deployed strategies so services can continue to operate,” 111 in Wales will be busier than usual this weekend, and it may take longer to answer calls.
NHS England reports that 111 services are still accessible with “little disruption” and “proven contingency preparations in place.”
The Scottish government is aware of the alleged disruption to a system used by one of NHS Scotland’s suppliers and is collaborating with other health boards and the National Cyber Security Centre to “completely comprehend the possible implications.”
The Northern Ireland Department of Health is also striving to minimize disruptions, and precautions have been made to prevent other important systems and services from being affected.
Advanced, the software and services provider impacted by the incident, reported that the damage was limited to “a small number of servers” comprising only 2% of its health and care infrastructure.
Simon Short, chief operating officer, added, “We continue to work with the NHS and health and care organizations, as well as our technology and security partners, on the recovery of all systems over the weekend and at the beginning of next week.”
