A WIRRAL NHS trust is still reeling from the impact of a cyber attack that took place last week. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust previously said the attack was affecting all its hospitals including at Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge.

An email, seen by the LDRS and sent to staff members on November 25, said: “A major incident has been declared at the Trust due to a cyber incident and we are working to downtime processes.” This affected all clinical activity.

Appointments have been cancelled and staff have been forced to do everything manually as systems holding records are down. It comes as NHS services are set to face “a very difficult winter” according to top health officials in Wirral Council.

On November 28, the trust said it was “a targeted cyber security issue” and “after detecting suspicious activity, as a precaution, we isolated our systems to ensure that the problem did not spread.” One week on, services are still impacted by the cyber incident. 

On December 3, a Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) spokesperson said: “We are currently in the process of reinstating our main clinical system following the cyber security incident last week. As we work through our recovery the incident will be stepped down to a Business Continuity Incident.

“Some services will continue to be affected this week as systems are restored. Anyone with an outpatients appointment is advised to come to their appointment.

“Emergency treatment is being prioritised but there are still likely to be longer than usual waiting times in our Emergency Department and assessment areas. “We urge all members of the public to attend the Emergency Department only for genuine emergencies.

“In an emergency please call 999. For non-urgent health concerns, please use NHS 111, visit a walk-in centre, urgent treatment centre, your GP, or pharmacist.”

At a recent Wirral Council meeting, the local authority said plans were in place related to social care services. The local authority’s chief health director Sayyed Osman referred to the incident, adding: “We’re still facing a very difficult winter.

“Again when we met with the Department for Health and Social Care and other government departments, we’re impressing on them the importance of recognising some sort of winter pressure funding to help us have the resilience to get through this winter because it’s already starting to show significant challenges.”

The LDRS approached Wirral West MP Matthew Patrick about the situation and asked whether he planned to raise the issues within the local NHS with the current government. He said: “People across the Wirral will rightly be concerned about the ongoing impacts of the recent cyber attack at Arrowe Park.

“After 14 years of Tory mismanagement, it’s no wonder that our NHS is struggling to deliver for patients and our communities. During the election, Labour pledged to get our NHS fit for the future.

“The £25.7 billion investment announced in last month’s Budget, the biggest increase in NHS funding since 2010, is the first step to delivering on that promise. I will work closely with the council and local NHS Trusts to ensure that residents in Wirral West feel the benefit of Labour’s landmark investment.”