Cornwall Hospital still dealing with effects of cyberattack

The Cornwall Community Hospital in Cornwall, Ont. April 17, 2023. (Tyler Fleming / CTV News Ottawa)

The Cornwall Hospital says it's still dealing with the fallout from a cyberattack on its computer network that happened a month ago.

The hospital is managing payroll, staff scheduling and other support functions through "alternative solutions," it said in an update on Thursday.

There are also still delays with some services, particularly X-rays, CT- scans and MRIs, but the hospital said they expect those to improve within the next week.

"We are working full throttle with our partners to minimize any inconvenience these issues may cause and ensure that CCH’s return to standard operations resumes as soon as possible," the hospital said in a news release.

The hospital said it has made "significant process" since discovering the cyberattack on April 11.

"CCH has largely now returned to its standard approach to patient care, with clinical activity volumes (emergency, inpatient, surgical, etc.) back to accustomed levels," the news release said.

The hospital announced last month that a network issue was identified, which was revealed to be a cyber incident. The incident disrupted scheduled and non-urgent care across many departments.

The hospital is the latest in a string of cyber attacks targeting hospitals.

In 2021, the Kemptville District Hospital reported an attack that forced the hospital to take its network offline and temporarily close its emergency department.

In December, Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital was also attacked and, in February, the Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ont. was infected.