Thousands of people have been admitted to hospital with flu, according to the latest data. In the last week, hospitalisations from the virus have risen by 79%.
Over the seven days ending December 25, there was an average of 3,746 people with flu in hospital. NHS England said the figure during the previous week was 2,088 and just 722 at the start of the month.
The rise in cases has led to NHS England’s national medical director Professor, Sir Stephen Powis, urging people to get their flu and Covid vaccines if eligible. He said: “Sadly, these latest flu numbers show our fears of a ‘twindemic’ have been realised, with cases up seven-fold in just a month and the continued impact of Covid hitting staff hard, with related absences up almost 50% on the end of November.
“As well as flu, the NHS continues to be under significant pressure, with high bed occupancy, more than 12,000 beds taken up by patients medically fit for discharge, and demand for the 111 service remaining high, so please do make the most of 111 online, and only call 999 or visit A&E in an emergency.
“It is clear this is no time to be complacent and the risk of serious illness is very real, so with nearly 350,000 available vaccination appointments next week it is important that everyone eligible comes forward and gets their Covid and flu jabs at the earliest opportunity.”
The increase in flu cases has been seen in general hospital and critical care beds. The latter is reserved for the sickest patients. During the week leading up to Christmas there were 267 patients with flu in critical care beds, up from 149 during the previous weeks.
At this point in 2021, there were just 34 flu patients in hospital. Only two were in critical care.
Hospitals are also facing pressures due to staff shortages due to Covid-19. Staqff absences due to the virus have risen by 47% in a month to 8,029.
