A continued cyber-attack on an NHS supplier could lead to months of processing paperwork.
According to one report, an out-of-hours surgery is resorting to pen and paper after services provider Advanced was first targeted on August 4.
The company has warned that it could take three months to get some services back up and running.
Cyber hackers removed seven of Adavnced health systems, including software used for patient check-ins, medical notes and the NHS 111 service.
According to the BBC, Dr Fay Wilson, who manages an urgent-care centre in the West Midlands, says the main problem is with patient records.
Patient care could be affected, she warned.
She added: “Three times in the last two weeks I have had to say we are now on ‘escalation’, which means we can’t do any home visits overnight and they will have to be delayed until the morning.”
Now every in-person srugery visit was having to be recorded with pen and paper, she said.
Images of handwritten notes on different-coloured paper, depending on the day of the week, now have to be emailed from hospitals and surgeries, but Dr Wilson says staff are coping well and volunteering to work longer hours to help.
The British Medical Association says other regions are likely to be facing similar difficulties but some areas are now returning to normal.
An NHS statement said: “The use of electronic records is a small – but important – aspect of diagnosing and treating patients. Advanced is working to resolve their software problems, and since Monday 22 August, NHS 111 service providers have been coming back online.”
Prof Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told the BBC the lack of access to patient notes is “concerning and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency”.
It’s not known which ransomware group attacked Advanced but the company is not saying whether it is negotiating with the cyber-criminals.
Hackers will issue a ransom demand in Bitcoin in exchange for recovery of IT systems.
Recent analysis suggests that 74% of all money made through ransomware attacks in 2021 went to Russia-linked hackers. https://www.nhs.uk/