CYBER ATTACK
WAS YOUR PHARMACY IT SYSTEM HIT BY THE RECENT GLOBAL CYBER ATTACK? SCOTLAND’S HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS CERTAINLY STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE! JUST LOOK AT THE HEROIC TEAM EFFORT OF STAFF AND PARTNERS IN NHS LANARKSHIRE!
HEALTHCARE
PROFESSIONALS MEET CYBER CHALLENGE!
D
etails have emerged of how NHS Lanarkshire staff and partners embarked on a heroic
team effort to ensure to patient care and safety - in defiance of global hackers.
The ransomware cyber virus used in the 12 May attack affected organisations throughout the world. At NHS Lanarkshire, a specially- assembled strategic group, led by chief executive Calum Campbell, quickly made the decision around 4pm to take preventative action to contain the damage by closing down computer systems.
As with every enterprise affected globally, the lockdown created vast challenges, but the NHS Lanarkshire staff - including North and South Lanarkshire’s Health and Social Care Partnerships – were determined to
ensure both continuity of care and patient safety..
At the centre of the effort was a tireless team of in-house IT professionals, who worked round the clock – sacrificing personal commitments and defying fatigue – to restore vital systems.
‘All staff groups showed outstanding commitment,’ said Calum Campbell. ‘In particular, it should be recognised that NHS Lanarkshire’s eHealth Department went above and beyond and worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to restore critical systems and secure the IT infrastructure. We maintained access to all three Lanarkshire emergency departments throughout the weekend, for example, working closely with Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.’
Staff on the frontline also played a crucial role in setting up and running contingency plans.
SAFE ARRIVALS
Bellshill couple Cheryl McNulty and Scott Wright welcomed their twin daughters into the world on the Saturday morning, in the midst of the cyber attack that hit NHS Lanarkshire’s IT system.
‘I had a condition called placenta praevia, which made my pregnancy high risk,’ said Cheryl. ‘I had a moderate bleed on Tuesday, which meant that I was kept in to be monitored. Early on Saturday morning I had a heavy bleed and the decision was taken to deliver the babies early.
‘The whole team came together to deliver my babies. There was no sense of panic. Everyone knew their role and I felt completely safe.’
Cheryl and Scott’s two baby girls were born in the early hours of Saturday at 3.12am and 3.13am.
‘The staff were absolutely brilliant,’ Cheryl continued. ‘If they hadn’t explained to me about the cyber attack, I wouldn’t have been aware that there were any issues. The only thing I noticed was that everything was done on paper rather than a computer. From my point of view, it didn’t have any impact on my patient experience at all. I couldn’t say a bad word about the care that I received. It was such a positive experience.’
‘In maternity services,’ said Amanda Kennet, senior midwife for inpatients, ‘we are used to working in high-stress situations. Everyone played a vital role in Cheryl’s care. It doesn’t matter what comes along, we pull together and deal with it. You can’t break NHS Lanarkshire staff. We do this job because we love people and our patients are our priority.’
SKILL OF HEALTHCARE STAFF TRIUMPHS OVER HACKERS As the interim head of patient safety for NHS Lanarkshire, Jonathan O’Reilly was well aware of the cyber attack that had struck the organisation earlier that day, but when his two-year-old daughter, Lily, became unwell on the Friday night, his fatherly instinct told him that he needed help from healthcare staff.
Jonathan and his wife Suzanne took Lily to the out-of-hours service at Douglas Street in Hamilton.
Cheryl and Scott with their babies 16 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST ‘When we arrived, it looked like
Jonathan and Suzanne O’Reilly with their daughter Lily
business as usual,’ said Jonathan. ‘There were additional staff members on board who had all rallied together to make sure that the service ran smoothly. The GP that we saw was first class and did everything that you would expect at our appointment, despite the IT challenges. The only noticeable difference was that she gave us a hand-written prescription. Staff were creative in their approach to things by finding a work around to the IT issues, for example by using phones rather than laptops.’
Lily was diagnosed with tonsillitis and, within an hour of her arrival, she was home and had been given her first dose of antibiotics.
TECHNOLOGY NOT THE ‘BE ALL AND END ALL’ IN HEALTHCARE The weekend saw the out-of-hours department implement its business continuity plans with a paper processing system being installed to ensure that business continued as normal. This process ensured that clinical staff had access to information on what each patient presented with. Staff were able to clinically review, prescribe and dispense medication.
‘IT adds great value to the health service,’ Jonathan concludes. ‘It can help quicken up and streamline processes. However, that weekend’s ransomware attack was an important realisation that you don’t turn up to hospital to be seen by a computer. You aren’t treated by a laptop. The most important thing in the health service is the clinical expertise that was so evident in our visit to the out- of-hours service. It gives you added respect and appreciation for the skills that our healthcare staff have.’ •
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