STAFF at NHS South Cheshire CCG and NHS Vale Royal CCG have been working tirelessly to make sure patient services are maintained and any disruption is kept to a minimum, amid a cyber-attack on the NHS.

IT staff have been working over the weekend to recover computers that were attacked by the virus. Teams are continuing with this work in order to bring back services as soon as possible.

General practices have been seeing patients with appointments throughout the day and people who have appointments with community services have been reassured that community services have introduced a temporary system to make sure that patients can be seen as normal.

Services at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT), which manages Crewe’s Leighton Hospital, Victoria Infirmary in Northwich and Elmhurst Care Centre in Winsford, are running as normal following a period of disruption over the weekend.

Patients are asked to attend any planned appointments unless they have been contacted directly by the Trust and, due to an anticipated busy period, are encouraged to only use Leighton Hospital’s A&E when there is a genuine emergency. Many local systems are now back online, however, patients are asked to use NHS services wisely until normal service is resumed.

Tracy Parker-Priest, Director of Commissioning at NHS South Cheshire CCG and NHS Vale Royal CCG, said: “Staff across the NHS in South Cheshire and Vale Royal have been working to ensure that patient care is maintained and that no services have been forced to close.

“Many staff have literally worked around the clock all weekend to ensure that any service disruption is kept to a minimum.

“I’d like to give a personal thank you to all the staff who gave up their own time and for their commitment and support to keeping local NHS services up and running.

“We would like to ask people for their continued support and please be patient as we work as quickly as possible to resolve any issues.”

Judi Thorley, Chief Nurse at NHS South Cheshire CCG and NHS Vale Royal CCG, said: “Although services are still open there may still be some disruption, there are steps you can take to help us whilst systems are getting back online.

“If you have a scheduled GP appointment, keep it. Although they might not have access to everything, doctors are still able to address your clinical needs.

“The NHS 111 free phone line is another way you can get medical advice and what services are locally available. You can also talk to your local pharmacist who is trained and qualified to give professional, free advice.”

The NHS Choices website is also available with useful guides on medical conditions and treatments at www.nhs.uk