Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on the cyber attack impacting major London hospitals

Several major hospitals in London have been impacted by a cyber attack - which led to operations being cancelled and emergency patients being diverted.

The incident has had an impact on the delivery of key services, including blood transfusions and test results.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains the widespread damage being caused by the attack.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray, UK correspondents with US now evening to you, Devin,
Hi there, How bad does the cyber attack at the hospitals?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah, it's i'm afraid being pretty serious. So this was
an attack on a third party provider to the National
Health Service, but it has seen i'm afraid, some pretty
widespread disruption yesterday and that's going to carry on through
to today. We're being warned a critical incident has been declared,
with operations being canceled, emergency patients being diverted elsewhere King's

(00:31):
College Hospital, GUIs and Saint Thomas's, Royal Brompton Children's Hospital,
the Evelina and also some primary care services. In other words,
local doctor services have been affected, with a major impact
on the delivery of services, especially blood transfusion and also
getting back test results. So as you can imagine if
you're in the hospital awaiting a major operation then told

(00:53):
that it's been postponed, very very disappointing. Apparently servers, departments
rather couldn't connect the main server and so consequently they've
had to do all this work. Now, the National Health
Service spending a lot of money on cybersecurity, but in
this particular incident, as I mentioned it was partnering with

(01:13):
a provider of pathology services called Cinebus. Cinemas say they're
throwing everything out it to get this sorted. They're very sorry,
but I'm al sorts of speculation about who it might be,
with some suggesting it is a Russian group behind this
cyber attack.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Hey, who do you reckon? Won the debate?

Speaker 2 (01:31):
I think that our first prime ministerial debate or first
general election television debate was pretty close. However, I was
surprised to see Rishi Sunac come out quite so punchy.
Sakir Starmer, a former lawyer, was rather lawyerly for the
opposition party. A few ums and ours and a few
sort of very slow delivery. Neither of them, frankly has

(01:54):
much charisma, natural TV charisma as it were. But Rishisunac
came out really pun and there were some pretty heated exchanges,
particularly over tax. The Prime Minister accusing the opposition party
Labor of costing every single family in the UK more
than four and a half thousand dollars in tax a
claimed that the Labor opposition party said was absolute garbage.

(02:18):
They also clashed over the National Health Service. After all,
if you've been in charge for fourteen years. You can't
really blame anyone else, although COVID and a doctor strike
were being blamed. And also immigration, immigration very much back
in the frame since Nigel Farage, the former Brexit leader
and now they're a form UK leader standing for a constituency,

(02:40):
suggesting his aim and his demands were zero net migration.
The other parties trying to think of clear policies about
trying to sort that out.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Givin why is Stephen fryin trouble? What's he done well?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Stne Prize The former president of one of Britain's most
exclusive clubs, the MCC, the Mariller and Cricket Club, the
home of Lord's Cricket and it is one with a
huge waiting list for people trying to get in. Now
he was at a literary festival and talked a little
bit about lots of things, including racism at cricket, which

(03:16):
was what this side event was about. And he spoke
about the Marylanbune Cricket Club and said, and I quote,
it stinks of privilege and classicism. He also said, in
a longer quote, it has a public face that's deeply disturbing.
Beetroot colored gentleman in yellow and orange blazer sitting in
this space in front of the long room and looking

(03:38):
as if they'd come out of an Edwardian cartoon. Well,
the problem for him is that these comments made at
a meeting have now gone public and there is in
the laws and regulations of being a member something about
bringing the club into disrepute, and it's reported several other
members have now written to the committee saying they believe

(03:58):
he has breached that regulation and therefore needs to be suspended. Well,
an investigation we think is underway, with one member telling
the local media that basically, you know, he swans around
as chairman for a whole year and the moment that's
over he then slags them all off at the Hay

(04:20):
Literature Festival, and so consequently he could be suspended. We'll
have to see. I have to say the term show
voting is probably one that Stephen Fry would rather enjoy
being described.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
Gavin, thank you very much, appreciate it. Kevin Gray, UK,
corresponding For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
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