Frontline NHS staff are experiencing unprecedented pressures, comparable to the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to a surge in flu cases. Hospital admissions for flu have reached an average of 5,400 patients per day in England, significantly higher than previous weeks. The crisis has prompted several hospitals to declare critical incidents, indicating their struggle to provide adequate care. Experts warn that the harsh winter weather could exacerbate the situation.
Frontline NHS staff say they are experiencing pandemic-level pressures - as flu levels continue to rise. Last week the number of patients in hospital in England with the virus hit on average 5,400 per day – around 1,000 higher than a week before.England’s chief medical officer warned today that NHS staff are under "intense pressure" and facing a situation similar to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is also higher than at this stage two years ago in the winter of 2022/23, when the figure stood at 5,262 - although flu numbers had started to fall by then, having previously peaked at 5,441.An average of 626 hospital beds in England were filled each day last week by patients with diarrhoea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms, up from 528 the previous week and higher than the equivalent figure at this point last winter and two years ago .
NHS Flu Pandemic Hospitals Crisis Winter Weather
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