NHS cyber attack: the lessons to be learned

Nurses across England and Scotland had to cope with major disruption last month when dozens of NHS organisations fell victim to a cyber attack

Nurses across England and Scotland faced major disruption last month when dozens of NHS organisations fell victim to a cyber attack.

The health service was thrown into chaos as computers were locked by a ransomware program that demanded payment to access files that had been locked. Staff were unable to access notes, patients faced uncertainty about operations, and some hospitals had to divert emergency ambulances elsewhere.

A community nurse from Essex told the Guardian newspaper her call centre for community services went into lockdown and staff had been unable to receive any information about authorisations for medicine changes or referrals, or to look