The NHS is facing an “unprecedented flu wave”, a senior healthcare leader said, as the number of people with the illness in hospitals across England hit a record high.
The statistics, published by NHS England as part of its first weekly snapshot of the performance of hospitals this winter, found that an average of 1,717 flu patients were in beds each day last week – more than 50% higher than last year – including 69 patients whose condition was critical.
This is compared with 1,098 flu patients in NHS hospital beds at the same time last year, representing a 56% increase. In 2023 there were 160 flu patients in beds in the same week.
Prof Julian Redhead, the national director for urgent and emergency care, said the figures confirmed the NHS’s “deepest concerns” that the health service was bracing for an unprecedented flu wave this winter, with cases “incredibly high for this time of year and there is no peak in sight yet”.
“The NHS has prepared earlier for winter than ever before, but despite that we know that ballooning flu cases coinciding with strikes may stretch our staff close to breaking point in the coming weeks,” he added.
Graphic: Hospital beds in England occupied by flu patients, showing steeper rise this winter compared with rise and peaks December to March in last three winters
The figures also reveal that 30% of patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, slightly down from 36% the week before.
Resident doctors in England have voted to begin a five-day strike, which will run from 7am on 17 December until 7am on 22 December, coinciding with the surge in flu cases.
Referring to the strikes, Sir Jim Mackey, the chief executive of NHS England, told the NHS board there was a “genuine and palpable feeling of anger, frustration, exasperation”.
“We’re all just really trying to get our heads around something that feels cruel, feels calculated to cause mayhem at a time when the service is really pulling all the stops out to try and avoid that and keep people safe,” he said.
“So I really do hope we can find a way of avoiding this. We can’t expect this round to be similar to the last two, because it’s now being called at the height of winter, when we’ve got a lot of flu around, and we are actively considering what our national response to that should be.”
By this time next week, the number of flu patients in NHS beds could rise as high as 8,000, Mackey said.
Thirty per cent of patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, compared with 36% in the equivalent week in 2024 and 27% the year previous.
Sarah Woolnough, the chief executive of the King’s Fund, said the figures confirmed that the NHS was “entering the most challenging period of the year, with pressures hitting the health and care service from all directions”.
“Rising flu waves and industrial action are all adding strain to a system which is already struggling to deliver timely care for patients,” Woolnough said. “The flu season started unusually early this year and is yet to peak, so it is too soon to know how long this surge will be sustained for.”
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said: “We will do all we can to weather this storm. I am determined that with the proper planning, record investment and modernisation this government is bringing in, we’ll have a more resilient NHS for this winter and beyond.”
