Cyberattack on NHS causes hospitals to miss cancer care targets

NHS Wirral hospitals experienced a major cyber incident starting 25 November 2024 that pulled core clinical systems offline, forcing staff to operate on paper, cancel appointments and elective procedures, and driving a sharp increase in cancer treatment waiting times through December; the trust reports operational disruption, ongoing recovery work, staffing shortfalls, and an estimated additional cost of around £3 million to its forecast deficit, while the technical cause and attacker attribution remain unspecified.