A cyber attack causing chaos to computer systems across England has infected computers in medical centres in Scotland, including Dundee.
Hawkhill Medical Centre said their computers were hit by a “ransomware” virus on Friday afternoon, which affected how staff could access patient records.
Non-emergency patients have been advised to put off visiting the surgery until Tuesday, unless it is absolutely essential they see a doctor or nurse.
Ten Tayside GP surgeries are thought to have been attacked by the virus, which shows a striking “demand notice” asking for a ransom of online currency Bitcoin.
A red screen reading a message asking for payment, alongside a countdown clock, has been reported on screens, which threaten to delete files if money is not transferred.
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For more on this developing story, see Saturday’s Courier
Dr Andrew Cowie, of Hawkhill Medical Centre, said: “This attack could affect our IT systems over the course of the weekend, and we will be open on Monday but we cannot guarantee the systems will be back up and running by then.
“Computers are essential to the modern operation of the health service, we use them for a whole number of reasons and we are aware of the risks faced by IT systems every day.
“We are advising that if you can wait to see a member of staff at Hawkhill until Tuesday then please do, and if you do have an emergency we will of course be open on Monday morning as normal.
“Fingers crossed the problem can be fixed as quickly as possible.”
There are also reports of problems in NHS Forth Valley.
Hackers trying to hit NHS Scotland too. pic.twitter.com/vgBhB01XfN
— Nic (@Nic_Kerr74) May 12, 2017
As reported by The Courier, the health service in Tayside is subjected to thousands of online threats a week.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “No NHS Tayside systems or hospital sites have been affected by Friday’s UK-wide cyber attack. There is no impact on NHS Tayside’s emergency departments or out-of-hours service.
“However, we are aware that the IT systems at 10 GP practices across Tayside, which operate on a non-NHS Tayside system have been affected. Our eHealth team is working with the GPs to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
Hospitals in England have been shut down by the attack, and several hospital trusts including NHS Mid-Essex and East and North Hertfordshire have said they are suffering significant IT systems problems.
This is the screen NHS staff have seen in #nhscyberattack (via @ShaunLintern) pic.twitter.com/1sI6uBjGMJ
— Dr Ben White (@drbenwhite) May 12, 2017
NHS Digital said 16 organisations within the health service had seen their IT systems affected as of 3.30pm by a ransomware attack, using malware called “Wanna Decryptor”.
An NHS Digital spokesman said: ” At this stage we do not have any evidence that patient data has been accessed.
“We will continue to work with affected organisations to confirm this.”
