The BBC reported that the cyber-attack over the weekend of 13th May infected 125,000 computer systems worldwide, and 48 NHS trusts were affected causing some to cancel operations.
Thanks to the rapid response of our IT services, we were not one of the trusts affected. Our IT staff worked through the night to ensure we, and other local trusts we provide IT services for, were not impacted by the cyber threat. They checked all our systems and undertook some maintenance work as a precaution.
One of the customers of our commercial IT arm Terafirma is Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Our Chief Information Officer Mark Stanton and his team received a well-deserved letter of thanks and appreciation from them.
Dr Kate Gingell, Joint Medical Director and Caldicott Guardian, and Mr Rupert Davies, Interim Director of Finance, Performance & IT and Trust Senior Information Risk Officer, praised Mark and his team for “responding rapidly and comprehensively” to deal with the issue.
Their letter also said:
“As a result of the actions taken by Terafirma the Trust’s core services – Oasis, shared folders and email services – were all protected.
“On behalf of the Trust, we are therefore writing to express our appreciation to Terafirma’s response and in particular to the dedication of your team over that specific weekend.”
On behalf of our Board of Directors, I would like to add my grateful thanks to Mark and his team for keeping our NHS services running smoothly with no impact on patient care.
We must keep in mind, however, the potential disruption to services of such cyber-attacks and remember that each and every member of staff has a responsibility for IT security.