The number of flu cases in hospitals has doubled in the past two weeks as NHS staff face significant pressure from industrial action over the winter.
The latest figures for the week before Christmas Eve show an average of 942 flu patients were in hospital each day, including 48 in intensive care. That’s nearly six times more than the 160 patients four weeks ago and double the number two weeks ago.
Norovirus also continues to have an impact, with an average of 452 patients admitted to hospital each day for symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. That’s up 61 percent from the 281 patients in the same week last year. There were also 3,620 Covid patients in hospital as of December 24, up 59 percent from 2,275 the previous month.
As the number of Covid cases in the community remains high, an average of 2,597 staff per day were absent due to the virus last week, up 51 per cent from 1,715 at the end of November.
Last week there were three days of strikes by trainee doctors in hospitals, resulting in 86,329 appointments and operations having to be postponed.
A further six days of strikes will take place between 3 and 9 January – the longest period of continuous strike action in the history of the NHS.
Despite additional disruption and the highest number of ambulances arriving at hospitals this winter (93,454), only 14,262 hours were lost due to transport delays – half the previous week’s figure (28,966) and 61 percent down from 36,292 in the same week. Week Last year, representatives of the National Health Service in England said.
As part of its winter planning, the NHS last week opened 98,114 permanent “essential” beds and 2,626 “escalation” beds, which are open during high pressure periods.
There were an average of 11,439 people in hospital each day who could not be discharged despite medical readiness – so-called “bed blockers” – but that was almost 1,300 fewer patients than the week before. According to NHS England’s latest weekly situation report, NHS 111 staff also responded to more than twice as many calls within a minute compared to the same week last year (63.4 per cent compared to 24.9 per cent).
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS, said: “These figures show the enormous pressure the NHS is under, with the number of patients with flu rising significantly in recent weeks and cases of norovirus far higher than we saw last winter ” . visible. and the ongoing impact of Covid – all on top of the added pressure of industrial action.
“We know that more than 86,329 operations and appointments had to be postponed last week due to the three-day strike and, unfortunately, the impact next week is likely to be much more severe with six days of trainee doctors’ strike planned. , the longest in the history of the NHS, at a time when hospitals are typically under the greatest pressure due to high demand and rising virus admissions.
“So, as always, I encourage the public to get their Covid and flu vaccinations when they are eligible. Make sure you order your repeat prescriptions before the upcoming bank holiday weekend and, as always, only use 999 in emergencies, or A&E 111 online is the best address for other emergencies.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.