Health Business

NEW RELEASE:
HEALTH BUSINESS 18.03

£150 million to improve NHS cyber resilience

It has been one year since the NHS became the highest-profile victim of a global ransomware attack which resulted in operations being cancelled, ambulances being diverted and documents such as patient records made unavailable.

According to the National Audit Office, the WannaCry cyber attack, which struck on 12 May 2017, affected over a third of trusts in the UK and led to the direct cancellation of nearly 7,000 appointments.

At the end of April, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a £150 million agreement with Microsoft to ensure all NHS organisations are using the latest Windows 10 software, with updated security, with £21 million to be spent upgrading network infrastructure at major trauma centre hospitals and ambulance trusts, and new powers given to the Care Quality Commission to inspect NHS trusts on their cyber and data security capabilities.

The importance of helping to protect the NHS from the growing threat of cyber attacks cannot be overstated, and with NHS Digital reassuring that this is one of a suite of measures being deployed to protect the service from cyber attack, the digital future of our healthcare system should be in safe hands.

Read our article on the Microsoft agreement on page 87, where NHS Digital’s Peter Dyke explains the details of the deal and the benefits to NHS organisations.

Michael Lyons, editor