DLP wants more answers on QEH’s cyber attack

The Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) is calling on the Minister of Health to come clean with the public about last month’s cybersecurity breach at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), including whether patient information was compromised.

Chairman of the party’s Working Group on Health, Paul Gibson made the call as he also expressed concern about the resilience of the Government Information Technology (IT) systems from cyberattacks.

In a statement issued on Monday, Gibson noted that four weeks after the December 12, 2022 cybersecurity incident that affected the hospital’s Internet network, Dr The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott was yet to speak to the public about the matter.

He said Dr Walcott should not only provide solutions to resolve the issue but also indicate what was being done to ensure there is no recurrence.

“To date, this cybersecurity incident affecting the QEH does not appear to have been resolved and the general public has not received comprehensive updates or information from the Minister regarding the scale of the breach, if or what confidential patient records have been accessed or stolen, and what is the timeline for full recovery of the hospital. Furthermore, the Minister, who is essentially the CEO [chief executive officer] of the hospital has been on vacation during this time of the crisis,” he contended.

“Because of how sensitive the information is, Barbadians need to be kept abreast as to what is happening because a lot of their medical records have been compromised. And with the advent of the Trident ID card with our licence and our date of birth and our fingerprints and codes and everything, we want to be secured and clear in our minds that the same thing will not happen in that sector,” Gibson added.

Since the cyber attack, QEH management has issued several press releases updating the public on efforts to recover from the cyber attack.

In its latest statement, released last Wednesday, it said the hospital’s IT team, in collaboration with external teams, had made good progress and continued to meet international standards and there would be a phased return to Internet use.

Gibson said the DLP was deeply concerned about the security of the hospital’s IT system and its resilience to malicious cyber attacks, and even more worried about the Government’s ability to secure other critical IT systems, including the digital ID system, and the Tax Administration Management Information System (TAMIS).

Gibson added that the DLP was concerned that the delivery of services at the QEH had been limited or suspended in some instances.

Based on the latest update from the QEH, the Outpatient Clinic remains open but patients have been told to expect delays; the Medical Records Department is unable to issue appointment dates; the Radiology Department remains open to the public for emergency tests only; and the Medication Delivery Service remains suspended.

Barbados TODAY’s efforts to reach Minister Walcott for comment proved futile. 

However, when contacted on Monday, QEH Executive Chairman Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland said the hospital continued to work on rectifying the problem. 

She said another update would be provided on Tuesday. (AH)