Arrowe Park Hospital hopes to fully restore system in 'next 24 hours' eight days after cyber attack

Bosses at one of the North West's busiest hospitals hope to have its computer systems fully operational again eight days after a cyber attack.

Arrowe Park Hospital in Upton, Wirral was hit by the attack on 25 November, triggering appointment cancellations for several days.

In axing some outpatient appointments, the hospital trust cited "patient safety" as its top priority.

Staff now say the attack has been downgraded from a "major" incident to a "business continuity" one.

A spokesperson said: "We are working through a plan to get our systems up and running today following the cyber security incident last week.

"As we work through our recovery the incident level has been stepped down to a Business Continuity Incident.

"We hope to have systems fully operational over the next 24 hours."

Medics now advise anyone with an outpatient appointment to attend Arrowe Park as normal but they warn of "longer than usual" waiting times in the hospital's A&E department.

"Emergency treatment is being prioritised," the spokesperson added, "but there are still likely to be longer than usual waiting times in our Emergency Department and assessment areas while our systems are reinstated.

"We urge all members of the public to attend the Emergency Department only for genuine emergencies.

"In an emergency, please call 999. For non-urgent health concerns, please use NHS 111, visit a walk-in centre, urgent treatment centre, your GP, or pharmacist."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…