Computer Virus Forced London Hospitals to Shut Down

Computer Virus Forced London Hospitals to Shut Down

Following a virus attack, three hospitals in London were compelled to close down their computer systems. The hospitals include St Bartholomew's (Barts) in the City, the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and The London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green.


Despite the attack, theatres and outpatient departments stayed fully operational, according to a spokeman of the hospitals in question. Patients with prior arrangement as well as walk-in patients were still catered to manual back-up systems.



Ambulances, however, were rerouted to nearby hospitals to make sure that critically ill patients were well attended to. The attack also caused a disruption in the patient trasport system employed by elderly or disabled patients to attend regular appointments. The spokesman claimed the virus was "not malicious", and the infection was "self-contained".