NHS hospitals in Greater Manchester have been instructed to reinforce their cyber security as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.
Staff across the region have been warned of 'potential hackers' asking for sensitive information. Health service leaders have instructed hospitals to 'focus' on keeping their systems secure, and make sure backups are available.
Meanwhile, Greater Manchester's health leaders revealed today (March 14) that they have pledged medical supplies to 'help our friends in the Ukraine'.
A note sent out to NHS trusts earlier this month, widely reported and confirmed by the national body - NHS England and NHS Improvement - ordered them to 'further strengthen cyber security resilience'.
"Following Russia's further violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the National Cyber Security Centre has called on organisations in the UK to bolster their online defences," it stated.
"Further guidance will be issued to NHS technical teams this week, and we ask that leaders support their teams to undertake priority activities to further strengthen cyber security resilience.
"NHS leaders should confirm with their local teams that systems are patched and protected, and that immutable backups are in place.
"The National Cyber Security Centre has issued guidance for organisations to take during periods when the cyber threat is heightened.
"Please ensure your organisation is following this guidance."
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, also told a summit earlier this month that cyber security was being brought to the 'forefront' in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
The advice follows the 2017 WannaCry attack, which saw ransomware crash the health service systems for days, costing the UK £92 million, and the wider world billions.
She added the health service was reviewing supply chain resilience in the event of an attack in the UK or in the wider world.
The chief executive, speaking at the Nuffield Trust Summit Series virtual conference, available to re-watch online, also revealed the NHS was researching the possibility of sending medical supplies to Ukrainian hospitals.
"The first thing is support for our staff who are from the Ukraine," explained Ms Pritchard.
"But I'm also talking about wider support for all of our staff including anybody from Eastern Europe or Russia...
"Part of what we have been doing is looking at things like whether we have got any sort of flexibility around supplies, which we can make sure that made available to be provided over to the Ukraine, particularly medical supplies that can be used to for casualties.
'That's something that is being done by Government, so [we are] playing a role in that and that as well."
Those messages have been mirrored in Greater Manchester, with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust - the largest trust in the UK - pledging help for staff with connections to the warring region, setting up likes to charities for staff who want to donate, as well as crucial medical resources.
Kathy Cowell, the trust's chair, told a board meeting today (March 14): "We have a very diverse workforce including members of staff with family and friends in the Ukraine, or the surrounding areas.
"I want to assure the board that we have been reaching out to our staff to recognise the impact it may be having on them, and to point them towards our 24-hour employee assistance programme, the trust's chaplaincy and staff site colleagues should they require support.
"We've also set up a process via our procurement team, whereby they can respond to any request for medical equipment and supplies from charities, community groups and affected individuals.
"We've already made the offer of a range of medical equipment and supplies to the Department of Health and Social Care, and we are coordinating a central process for donation...
"All of our heart's go out to those affected by these tragic circumstances and we'll continue to support our Ukrainian friends in every way that we can."
But, although Manchester hospitals are promising medical supplies for the Ukrainian defence effort, the announcement comes amid increasing scrutiny of the UK's ties to contracts with Russian giant Gazprom.
On Sunday, the Manchester Evening News reported how Gazprom has received almost £2m from NHS trusts across Greater Manchester over the last 12 months.
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust were the top spenders at £738,095, according to public procurement data providers Tussell.
Figures also show that Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust paid the energy giant £631,941, while Bolton NHS Foundation Trust splashed out £347,515.
Meanwhile, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust spent just over £200,000 on Gazprom services.
All four trusts have been approached for comment on whether they intend to cut ties with Gazprom, which is the largest commercial gas supplier in the UK.
On cyber security, Ms Pritchard said: "We have written out to the NHS, a lot of it is just a good practice about what what you should be doing around cyber security, but again, this just kind of brings it to the forefront.
'"And I think for those organisations who are still just working through some patching and other things, [we're] just encouraging people to make that the focus at the moment."
Greater Manchester trusts have since been implementing that instruction.
Among them, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which covers mental health care in parts of the region, telling the Manchester Evening News : "Since the start of the invasion we have been ensuring that all our systems are robust against a cyber attack.
"We’ve also been reminding staff about not clicking on suspicious emails/attachments, and to be alert to phone calls from potential hackers who may ask for sensitive information/passwords over the phone.
"We’ve also run online cyber-threat drop in sessions for staff."
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