Rideau Valley Health Centre service disrupted due to ‘cyber security incident’

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A cybersecurity incident continues to hinder services at a busy Ottawa clinic.

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The Rideau Valley Health Centre’s IT systems have been paralyzed, affecting the clinic’s ability to schedule appointments and leaving some of its clients disgruntled.

“Unfortunately, the incident is beyond our control,” a message on the clinic’s website reads. “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.”

“We have engaged with third-party cyber security experts to thoroughly investigate the matter and to have our systems operational as soon as possible. Based on the investigation to date, there is no indication that your personal information or privacy has been accessed or compromised. We appreciate your patience and cooperation in working through this issue.”

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This newspaper tried to contact the clinic on Saturday, but phone calls went unanswered.

“Upon discovering that the incident had occurred, our IT team took immediate steps to isolate and secure our systems,” the clinic’s website reads.

In the meantime, the clinic said the majority of physicians will be able to attend previously scheduled appointments, but that pre-booked virtual phone appointments are cancelled and that callers to the clinic may experience delays due to a greater than normal volume of calls.

“We have instructed local pharmacies to provide our patients with emergency supplies of their prescriptions if required,” the clinic’s message reads.

“Please be aware we may not be able to accommodate all urgent requests for appointments; you may be directed to visit another walk-in clinic or hospital emergency department.”

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Chelsea Collins, a patient at the clinic, said the clinic’s services have been disrupted for several weeks. She first learned of the trouble on Oct. 22, when she waited for a scheduled call from her doctor that never arrived.

She called the clinic and was told the systems were down and no appointments could be made.

“They said there was no way (for my doctor) to call me. There was no way of anything,” she recalled being told by clinic staff.

She called again Friday in an effort to get an appointment and was told the systems were still down, and this time a staff member said to her: “If you want to see your doctor you could try to come to a walk-in clinic.”

But Collins had no desire to sit in a doctor’s waiting room for what could be hours during a pandemic. She said the experience has left her feeling “pretty upset.”

“I got my name on another doctor’s waiting list,” she said.

A series of cybersecurity incidents have affected other services in the Ottawa area, too. On Oct. 20, a cybersecurity incident forced the Kemptville hospital to close its emergency department. The hospital announced it was dealing with a loss of essential services and said the incident had been reported to the OPP’s cybercrime division.

In a similar event, the city of Clarence-Rockland said that an Oct. 25 cybersecurity incident affected its systems but that no usable personal information was compromised.

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