Cyber attack halts NHS services

NHS hospitals and GP surgeries were paralysed by a cyber attack last week which hit more than 200,000 victims in 150 countries around the world.

Patients in eye departments were unaffected by the attack, yet many operations and appointments across the NHS were forced to be cancelled and rescheduled as a result.

AOP clinical director Dr Peter Hampson said: ‘The recent NHS IT security breach has the potential to severely impact patient care. Treatment for time sensitive conditions such as wet AMD could potentially be delayed if patient records and imaging systems cannot be accessed.’

Law enforcement agency Europol confirmed that the ransomware bug, which prevented staff from accessing their computers across 48 NHS trusts, is the biggest of its kind ever launched.