The NHS is on “high alert” as the number of people in hospital with flu reached the highest ever for this time of year amid continuing strikes.
An average of 3,140 people were in hospital with flu each day by the end of last week, an increase of 18% compared with the previous week. At the same time last year, an average of 2,629 patients were in hospital, while in 2023 the number was 648.
However, flu cases have begun to slow in some parts of the country, although the NHS has emphasised that the service is “not out of the woods”.
In the north-west of England, hospital cases of flu fell by 4% over the past week. But flu cases continued to rise in other parts of England, with patients in hospital up 39% in the east of England and 40% in the south-west.
The figures come as resident doctors in England begin the second of five days of strikes over a pay dispute.
Graph of flu patients in England
Prof Meghana Pandit, the NHS England national medical director, said although flu cases were not rising as quickly as feared across some parts of the country, the NHS was “nowhere near out of the woods yet”.
“Combined with the impact of strikes, a stream of winter viruses means many hospitals will be on high alert in the days ahead,” Pandit said. “But it remains vital that people continue to come forward for NHS care as normal.”
Critical care beds were occupied by 128 flu patients across England last week, up from 106 the week before.
An average of 427 hospital beds were also filled each day last week by patients with diarrhoea, vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms, an increase of more than a fifth (21%) compared with last week.
Just under a third (28%) of patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes before entering A&E, down from 32% the previous week.
Separate figures published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that hospital admission rates for flu in England have plateaued, at 10.3 admissions per 100,000 last week, compared with 10.2 the previous week.
People over 85 had the highest admission rate at 64.6 per 100,000 last week, up from 58.1 the previous week, while the rate for 75 to 84-year-olds was 31.4, broadly unchanged from 31.6.
For children under five, the rate was 27.3 per 100,000, up from 20.3.
Dr Alex Allen, a consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said: “With Christmas just around the corner, it’s reassuring to see that flu levels are now starting to stabilise, but flu is notoriously unpredictable and can bounce back and peak a second time in the new year, and so we’re urging people to continue taking sensible steps over the festive period to help stop the spread.”
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Flu continues to put significant strain on the NHS, with record numbers of patients in hospital, and frontline services remaining under enormous pressure. I’m appealing to the public to protect yourself and your loved ones by getting your flu jab.
“The British Medical Association’s regrettable decision to pursue strike action at this critical moment is piling on the pressure, but the NHS team has responded brilliantly to keep the show on the road. Our entire focus is on keeping patients safe through the strikes and this peak period for the NHS.”
