LONDON—Hospitals across England were being forced to divert emergency cases on Friday after suffering a suspected national cyber attack.
Among them was the Barts Health group which manages major central London hospitals including The Royal London and St Bartholomew’s.
“We are experiencing a major IT disruption and there are delays at all of our hospitals,” it said.
“We have activated our major incident plan to make sure we can maintain the safety and welfare of patients. Ambulances are being diverted to neighboring hospitals.”
Patients requiring emergency treatment across England were diverted away from the hospitals affected and the public was advised to only seek medical care for acute medical conditions.
A National Health Service (NHS) sign is seen in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital, in front of the Houses of Parliament in London on June 7, 2011. REUTERS/Toby Melville
