New NHS data covering the Christmas and New Year period shows flu
cases have continued to skyrocket, with over 5,000 patients
hospitalised with the virus at the end of last week.
Last week (w/e 29 Dec) there were an average of 4,469 patients
with flu in hospital each day – almost 3.5 times higher than the
same week last year – including 211 a day in critical care.
There were 4,102 patients in hospital with flu on Christmas Day,
rising sharply by almost a quarter to 5,074 by Sunday 29
December. The new figures mean flu cases in hospital have
quadrupled in a month (1,190 on 29 Nov).
There are warnings of continued pressure going into 2025, with
amber cold health alerts for England issued by UKHSA as
temperatures in the coming days are set to drop below freezing.
Hospitals are still experiencing pressure from a range of
viruses, with an average of 723 patients with norovirus in
hospital in the week ending 22 Dec, and 528 patients each day
last week – although this has come down, it remains 40% higher
than 378 the same week last year.
There was also an average of 74 children with RSV in hospital
every day last week, up almost half on 50 for the same period in
2023, as well as an average of 1,184 beds occupied by patients
with Covid.
While the national vaccination booking system has now closed,
those eligible can still get protected by visiting
a COVID-19 walk-in vaccination
site or finding a pharmacy offering the flu vaccine.
Ahead of winter the NHS put in place measures to manage extra
demand including upgraded 24 hour co-ordination centres, support
for frequent users of A&E services, strengthening same day
emergency care and providing more care in the community.
To prepare for an expected rise in winter pressure, the NHS had
1,301 more beds open last week than the same period last year
(101,309 vs 100,008). There was an average of 648 more beds
occupied each day compared to last year (90,200 vs 89,552).
Ahead of Christmas, NHS staff went above and beyond to discharge
as many patients as possible who no longer needed to be there
with 15,094 patients discharged on Christmas Eve, up more than
40% on the 10,495 discharges on average for the week before.
Further figures show the pressure on urgent and emergency
services with a total of 98,118 ambulance handovers to hospitals
last week, and 465,442 calls received by NHS 111.
Professor Redhead, NHS national clinical
director for urgent and emergency care, said: “These
latest figures show the pressure from flu was nowhere near
letting up before we headed into the New Year, skyrocketing to
over 5,000 cases a day in hospital as of the end of last week and
rising at a very concerning rate.
“On top of flu there is also continual pressure from Covid, while
RSV and norovirus hospital cases are also higher than last year,
with hospitals putting in place an extra 1,300 beds last week
than the same time last year in expectation of this continued
pressure from viruses and other demand.
“With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected right across
England ahead of the weekend, we know the low temperatures can be
dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory
conditions so if you are at risk, do try and keep warm and make
sure you are stocked up on any regular medication.
“Please continue to use NHS 111 and 111 online if you need advice
and support for health conditions, and only use 999 or attend
A&E in life-threatening emergencies.”
Background
- The latest weekly winter sit rep data is
available here.
