The U.K.'s Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) issued a thank you for everyone who worked over the weekend due to the ransomware attack on 12 May that affected IT systems across a number of National Health Service (NHS) organizations.
"We are sure all affected radiology and oncology departments have been and are continuing to do everything they can to keep working to offer patients the services they need," said Dr. Nicola Strickland, president of the RCR. "We appreciate that the National Cyber Security Centre and NHS organizations are helping those affected to recover from the attack."
There could be a backlog if images and scan reports cannot be accessed as normal while hospitals get their IT systems back online, and patient appointments may be affected, she added.
"However, if system reinstatement is not done properly, the impact on patients could be far worse in the long term," she said. "We are confident that affected radiology and oncology departments will be doing all they can to both safeguard patient data and get systems back online as soon as possible."
In related news, teleradiology services firm Medica Group announced its services were available as normal during the recent cyberattack.
"We provided additional support to clients to allow them to adapt their service delivery in a challenging situation," the firm said in a statement. "Throughout the weekend and continuing today, we are assisting clients affected by the attack with their recovery to normal operations."
