NHS hit with 'tidal wave of flu' as number of hospitalisations soar by 70%

Hospitals are bracing for a so-called "quad-demic" of disease over the winter. Credit: PA

NHS England has warned that a "tidal wave of flu" is hitting hospitals as people have been urged to get their flu jab "before it's too late".

Within the last week, the number of hospital beds in England occupied by patients with flu has increased by 70%, NHS England said.

Hospitals are bracing for a so-called "quad-demic" of disease over the winter, with an increase in cases of flu, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and expected increases in Covid-19.

It comes as the health service has said it is "busier than it has ever been before" this winter.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said: “The tidal wave of flu cases and other seasonal viruses hitting hospitals is really concerning for patients and for the NHS – the figures are adding to our ‘quad-demic’ worries.

“While the NHS has plans in place to manage additional demand over the busy winter period, with one week left to book your vaccine, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting booked in to protect yourself against serious illness and to avoid ‘festive flu’.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting also urged people eligible for free vaccinations on the NHS to take them “before it's too late”.

He said: “With A&Es facing record demand, we are continuing to encourage people to protect themselves, their family, and the NHS by getting vaccinated before it’s too late.”

An average of 1,861 flu patients were in hospitals in England each day last week, including 66 in critical care beds, NHS figures show.

Wes Streeting urged people eligible for free vaccinations on the NHS to take them “before it's too late”. Credit: PA

This is up from 1,099 patients the previous week when 39 were in critical care.

It is also more than four times the figure at this point last year, when the total stood at 402 patients, and higher than at this stage in 2022, when the average was 1,248.

The figures have been published in the latest weekly snapshot of the performance of hospitals in England this winter.

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