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Mytob virus forces London hospitals to revert to manual processes

Three hospitals in London were forced to conduct administrative processes by hand after a computer virus caused their IT systems to shut down earlier this week.

The Mytob virus, which is distributed via email and which opens a back door in a computer’s security defences, infected the systems of St Bartholomew's, the Royal London Hospital and The London Chest Hospital – all part of Barts and The London NHS Trust.

For a time, the disruption prevented ambulances from delivering patients to the accident and emergency ward. However the Trust’s continuity plan was successfully invoked, and all but a few ‘non-essential’ services were restored before the end of the day.

"This has been a difficult day, but by using back-up systems, manual procedures and working flexibly, we have continued to provide high quality care to our patients,” said the Trust’s chief executive Julian Nettel.

The various incarnations of the Mytob virus were among the most prevalent malware threats in 2005. Today, however, standard anti-virus software is able to detect and contain the virus, raising questions about the IT security provision at the Trust.

Further reading

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