Ottawa’s Rideau Valley Health Centre has been left without the ability to schedule appointments as their IT systems were severely affected by a recent cyber attack. Patients of the clinic are growing increasingly frustrated as staff are experiencing technical difficulties answering calls and accessing patients’ records.
The clinic posted a message on their website statement explaining, “Unfortunately the incident is beyond our control, and has also affected other parties.” The site further explains, “We regret to inform you that the underlying cause was a cyber security incident that resulted in our IT systems being rendered inoperable and has also affected our phone service.”
Without the ability to book appointments and fit in urgent care, the clinic is turning patients away to other walk-in clinics and hospitals until their systems are back up and running. In the meantime, the health centre has sought help from cyber security experts to investigate the incident as their IT team looks to “isolate and secure (their) systems.”