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NHS computers were struck by more than 8,000 viruses during the last financial year, an investigation by More4 News has discovered.

In November last year a computer virus struck three major London hospitals causing some systems to completely overload.

The incident prompted More4News to contact every NHS trust in England in an attempt to find out how many systems were currently under threat from computer viruses.

Of those contacted, 75 per cent replied, revealing that more than 8,000 viruses got through security systems with 12 incidents impacting on patient care.

The investigation discovered that in Newcastle, for example, one such incident caused a three-week appointments backlog.

Following the revelations, a number of trusts admitted their networks had come under attack due to anti-virus systems being turned off or not properly applied.

Other trusts actually placed the blame on staff who were turning off automatic windows updates.

Professor Ross Anderson of the University of Cambridge told More4 News: "Where you find infections of computers, it’s very often symptomatic of poor management of IT, just as when you find infections with MRSA and C-difficile, that’s a symptom of poor management of the hospital, of poor management of hygiene and such basic things as cleaning the floors."

The investigation also raises concerns over the safety of patients’ confidential data which could come under threat from hackers, especially with the NHS plans to develop a system linking all medical records in England.

In a statement to More4 News, the NHS responded: "Electronic patient records systems are protected by the highest levels of access controls and other security measures.

"These levels of security are far higher than any which can be imposed on access to paper records or the majority of local NHS IT solutions."