A Melbourne hospital is recovering after it was laid low by a computer virus.
Melbourne Health, which manages the Royal Melbourne Hospital, says most computer systems are up and running but it's still working to control the virus, which began hitting the hospital's core computer systems and personal computers on Friday afternoon.
The virus moved through the hospital's systems over the weekend and IT staff and security consultants have been working around the clock to isolate the problem.
The virus stopped hospital staff from accessing patient pathology results, with laboratory staff forced to do a "manual work around" the problem.
"This has slowed down the process and we have reverted to old-fashioned methods with paper-based records and phoning through and faxing results," Professor Chris MacIsaac told 3AW on Tuesday.
Dr MacIsaac, who heads the intensive care unit, says any "time-critical results" have been prioritised by the laboratory and are still getting through in a "timely fashion".
The hospital says the security of patient medical records has not been compromised and elective surgeries and outpatient appointments are continuing as normal.
"Tireless work" from IT staff has minimised the disruption to patients, a Melbourne Health spokeswoman said.
Computers running on most of our systems are now clear of the virus and IT staff are working to restore the remaining WindowsXP computers as quickly as possible," she said.
Most programs are up and running, including those used by pathology and pharmacy staff, she said.
