NHS cyber attack: Hospitals no longer diverting patients

Hospitals have stopped diverting patients following last week's cyber attack which crippled many NHS Trusts' IT systems.

People seeking medical treatment were still being redirected from two hospitals in Hertfordshire and Essex yesterday after the ransomware virus - which affected 150 countries - brought IT services to a halt.

But these two hospitals were taken off of "divert" status on Tuesday afternoon - meaning patients can now attend all A&Es as normal.

Dr Anne Rainsberry, from NHS England, said: "Patients are no longer being diverted away from hospital accident and emergency units and, while there is still some disruption in a small number of areas, most patients are being treated as normal.

"We are grateful for the hard work of staff at trusts and GP practices who are still suffering IT issues but have found ways to work around this, as well as the patience of people who have been affected."

The NHS was badly affected by the WannaCry ransomware virus, which affected more than 300,000 computers, with 47 trusts in England and 13 Scottish health boards compromised.