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Cyber-stricken Belgian hospitals refuse ambulances, transfer critical patients. Attack enters second day with major disruption to healthcare provision. Two hospitals in Belgium have cancelled surgeries and transferred critical patients to other facilities after shutting down servers following a cyberattack. AZ Monica, which operates hospitals in Antwerp and Deurne, confirmed the issues on Tuesday. It said seven patients receiving critical care had to be transferred to different nearby hospitals with help from the Red Cross so they could continue receiving the necessary treatement. All other patients continue to be treated at the affected sites. Its emergency department was operating at reduced capacity as of Tuesday, the day of the organization's last official update. According to De Tijd, 70 surgeries were cancelled on the day. The local news outlet also reported that disruption was expected to continue into Wednesday, January 14, although nothing official has been publicly communicated by the hospital network. The Register contacted AZ Monica for additional information. In its Tuesday update, the organization stated that the Mobile Urgency Group (MUG) and Paraprofessional Intervention Team (PIT) services are temporarily unavailable. MUGs are comprised of clinicians and nurses who travel to the scene of an incident to provide medical care, while PITs provide emergency care en route to a hospital. "AZ Monica's focus remains on the safety and continuity of care for our patients," it said. "AZ Monica continues to closely monitor the situation and will communicate further updates as soon as more clarity becomes available." In a separate advice sheet, the healthcare organization told patients to expect longer-than-usual registration times when visiting the affected hospitals, although the visitation of patients already admitted is unaffected. Those seeking urgent medical attention were instructed to first consult with their general practitioner, out-of-hours clinic, or other emergency service where available, since AZ Monica's emergency departments are operating at low capacity. No patients are currently being transported there by ambulance.