SYDNEY, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Five major hospitals in the Australian state of Queensland have been experiencing major IT concerns, Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick informed the state parliament Thursday.
In order to protect itself against a recent global ransomware attack, the state hospital system implemented a number of cyber security measures, referred to as "patches."
However according to e-health, the government organization responsible for upgrading the computer system, the precautions have appeared to backfire.
Medical staff have been "intermittently unable to log into the integrated electronic medical record system," Queensland Health told Xinhua in a statement Thursday.
E-health is now investigating the "link to increased cyber security measures" brought in to combat the "WannaCry attack on May 13," Queensland Health said.
"Although at slightly reduced capacity, it is not impacting on the quality of care for patients at our hospitals."
The five care facilities affected by the bungle include Brisbane's Princess Alexandra, Lady Cilento Children's hospital, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns hospitals.
In reply to the botched cyber security operation, Queensland opposition health minister John Paul Langbroek said, "Patients waiting for critical treatment will be left in the lurch if this e-health system isn't fixed immediately."
"Our hospitals are already buckling under the pressures of ambulance ramping and bed block and the last thing they need is for the system to crash," Langbroek said.
