An apparent cyberattack on parts of Newfoundland and Labrador's health care system is leaving doctors and patients scrambling after thousands of medical appointments were cancelled on Monday as a result.
Greg Nuna told CBC News he received a call Friday night that there was a surgery available for him on Monday morning at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's. He and his daughter flew out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay Sunday evening, but when arriving at the hospital around 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, he said he was told at the door all appointments were cancelled.
"I think the systems were down by Sunday, but there were no notification to patients like us. It's hurtful, but it's beyond their control," Nuna said.
"There should be some sort of system to determine whether their day surgeries are going ahead. I've come a long way and I'm really disappointed."
Nuna said he's been wearing a catheter and a bag for three months, adding it's uncomfortable for him in his daily life and that he's unable to go hunting out on the land to provide for his family. He said the plan was to have it removed on Monday and he was excited to get back to his life.
"I fell to my knees and nearly cried," he said. "I'm disappointed, hoping I'd be able to get back to being a normal person to do stuff with my kids and my family, to go out [and] enjoy life."
Nuna said he is supposed to return home to Sheshatshiu on Tuesday but is hoping the situation will turn for the better before then.
Jessica Connors also travelled from Labrador for an appointment in St. John's Monday morning.
She said it's a frustrating situation, a task to travel to St. John's from Labrador and tough mentally to prepare herself for what was supposed to be an MRI.
Last summer Connors had emergency surgery to remove a grade two tumour from her head. She said the tumour has a chance of growing back, so for the next three to five years she has to get an MRI scan every six months to ensure there's no regrowth.
"Preparing myself for this appointment and result ... I had myself so worked up to get this done and over with," she said.
Later on Monday Connors did receive an update. She said she was contacted by the radiology department and is added to a list of people who will be accommodated on Tuesday. Connors leaves St. John's on Wednesday.
Widespread issue
Outside of St. John's, in nearby Carbonear, Darlene Ryan Deirble said her husband, Jean-Claude had an appointment scheduled at the hospital in town on Monday for knee surgery.
She said the initial appointment was scheduled for Nov. 8, but the couple received a call of an earlier opening.
"There's absolutely no one to ask, all I know is that they're rebooking the appointments, but you have to arrange an OR date," she said.
"It's hard, it's really hard to figure it out. Hopefully they'll get up and running today, not in a couple of weeks time."
The apparent cyberattack was first noticed Saturday morning, Health Minister John Haggie told reporters on Monday. Haggie said the attack hit "the brain of the data centre."
Sources told CBC News on Monday the attack was ransomware, but Haggie couldn't confirm, saying the situation was still under investigation.
Meanwhile, Eastern Health did return to using paper records as a contingency plan. David Diamond, Eastern Health's CEO, told reporters he anticipates the health authority will also delay non-emergency procedures on Tuesday, and delays could extend into Wednesday.
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Cyberattack on health care throws wrench into plans for those travelling for appointments - CBC.ca
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