THE HSE continues to work on the restoration of its IT systems following a ransomwware attack.
Disruptions for patients will continue into this week as HSE officials work on regaining control of its systems.
It is believed that the ransom being demanded by hackers is as much as $20 million.
It is alleged that 700GB of unencrypted files have been stolen and the matter is being dealt with by the National Cyber Security Centre.
HSE chief Paul Reid said that government policy is not to pay ransomware demands.
Staff have been told to prioritise patient safety and to ‘protect unscheduled and urgent care’
Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said, in a memo to staff, that this advice was ‘underpinned by the need to prioritise patient safety and is focussed on unscheduled, urgent and time-critical care’.
“It is critical that this is monitored on a daily basis at service level to enable those services that can deliver scheduled care to do so,” he said.
People with radiotherapy, X-ray and MRI appointments are among those affected. Both chemotherapy and dialysis services are continuing.
At Letterkenny University Hospital, patients are being warned to expect significant delays in the Emergency Department as staff revert to manual workarounds while the IT systems are shut down.
Maternity services and dialysis treatment will go ahead. Patients should attend their chemotherapy appointments unless contacted and advised otherwise.
All outpatient clinics are cancelled and diagnostics including x-ray, CT scans, MRI appointments and cardiac investigations.
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