Major hospitals in London have declared a critical incident after a cyber attack led to operations being cancelled and patients being diverted elsewhere for care.

NHS officials said they were working with the National Cyber Security Centre after the attack on Synnovis, which provides pathology services to large hospitals and GP surgeries in the capital.

The company said the ransomware attack has affected all of its IT systems, which has impacted its pathology services.

Some procedures and operations have been cancelled or have been redirected to other NHS providers as hospital bosses continue to establish what work can be carried out safely.

Health service leaders said there has been a “significant impact” King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and GP services in south east London.

A memo to staff said the “critical incident” has had a “major impact” on the delivery of services, with blood transfusions particularly affected.

Patients have described last-minute cancellations to operations and blood tests.

A spokesman for NHS England London region said: “On Monday June 3 Synnovis, a provider of lab services, was the victim of a ransomware cyber attack.

“This is having a significant impact on the delivery of services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and primary care services in south-east London, and we apologise for the inconvenience this is causing to patients and their families.

“Emergency care continues to be available, so patients should access services in the normal way by dialling 999 in an emergency and otherwise using 111, and patients should continue to attend appointments unless they are told otherwise.

Synnovis chief executive Mark Dollar confirmed the company had been victim of a ransomware cyberattack, adding: “This has affected all Synnovis IT systems, resulting in interruptions to many of our pathology services.

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