HSE hack: Cancer patients could not be treated, and x-ray systems went offline

The PriceWaterhouseCooper report for the HSE reveals that cancer patients were particularly affected, as their large treatment teams usually rely on the NIMIS imaging system. Stock picture

Cancer patients could not be treated during the cyberattack on the HSE, and hospital records were so disrupted that patients had to dig out old appointment letters to prove their identity.

In one startling case, a surgeon was left so confused they phoned a GP to ask where a patient expected for surgery was, only to be told the operation had already taken place.