Southwestern Ontario hospitals affected by ransomware attack to rebuild networks from scratch

Five Southwestern Ontario hospitals affected by the October 23rd ransomware attack will rebuild their networks from scratch.

TransForm said in a release Wednesday their experts advised that the safest route was to rebuild the networks at Bluewater Health, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Windsor Regional Hospital.

"The investigation to determine the specific individuals whose data may have been taken is expected to take months," they said in a statement.

The update went on to say due to the current impact on systems, physicians may not have access to: past patient records or medical history, patients' current medication list, reports from other clinicians involved in care or pre-admission workups.

"We can confirm that the restoration process is on track. While it will still take some time before all affected critical systems are completely online, our teams are working around the clock to ensure the process is progressing as quickly and safely as possible. We are also working with leads at each hospital for a seamless return to service."

TransForm says the recovery process is happening in five phases with the first phase, contain the cyber attack, completed. 

"We can confirm that the restoration process is on track. While it will still take some time before all affected critical systems are completely online, our teams are working around the clock to ensure the process is progressing as quickly and safely as possible. We are also working with leads at each hospital for a seamless return to service."

TransForm says restoration of digital patient charting is expected to be complete by mid-December, which once restored they say will reduce patient delays.

Other clinical applications are expected to come back online one by one or in clusters approaching mid-December.

Patients are advised of the need to bring their health card to the hospital when seeking care. If patients do not need emergency care, they're asked to please attend their primary care provider or local clinic. 

A patient cybersecurity hotline has been established. For inquiries, please call: 519-437-6212 (8 am to 11 pm Monday through Friday). Staff questions can be directed to respective HR teams.