PATIENTS at Basingstoke hospital are being asked to attend their appointments unless told otherwise after the cyber attack that took place on Friday and over the weekend.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that while no data had been taken in the cyber attack, the walk-in x-ray centre would be closed today (May 15.)

A spokesperson from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We can confirm that the radiology services affected by the national cyber-attack at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital have been restored. There was no data loss or impact on other services.

“Staff worked very hard over the weekend to minimise the impact on patients and as a result there have been few cancelled appointments. Patients with an appointment should attend as normal, unless specifically contacted by the hospital.

“The walk-in x-ray service at Basingstoke hospital will remain closed for patients referred by their GP for the rest of the day. Patients can attend Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Andover War Memorial Hospital or Alton Community Hospital as an alternative. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“Our priority has been to restore our radiology services, and like other Trusts affected working with NHS Digital, we will continue to do all we can to protect our systems for the future.”

Numerous hospitals across the country and all over Hampshire were affected by “ransomware” that encrypted data and did not allow access to the data until the user had paid 300 US dollars’ worth of the online cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Dr Anne Rainsberry, NHS incident director, said: "The NHS has continued to treat patients throughout the weekend. We have been working with 47 organisations providing urgent and emergency care who have been infected to varying degrees. Most have found ways of working around this but seven, including St Barts in London, have asked for extra support.

"If you have a hospital appointment you should still attend unless you are contacted and told not to.

"We have also been offering advice and assistance to GP surgeries, who will open as usual tomorrow. Again, if you have an appointment you should still attend unless contacted and told not to.

"People should continue to use the NHS wisely and remember that they can seek help and advice from a range of other sources, such as pharmacies and NHS 111.

"Bearing in mind the impact of the global cyber attack I would urge people to be patient with staff."