A nurse adjusts her PPE in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in St George’s Hospital in Tooting
(Picture: PA)The number of hospital beds in London being occupied by flu patients is ten times higher than during the same period last year, figures show.
A total of 141 beds were occupied by flu patients in London's hospitals in the week up to November 20, as the capital's public health chief warned that cases of the virus were "rising rapidly".
There were just 13 beds occupied by flu patients in the week up to December 5 last year, according to the NHS' weekly winter situation report. Caution around social mixing fuelled by the Covid pandemic kept the spread of the disease low last year, while a flu wave never materialised in winter 2020 as a result of the national lockdown.
Professor Kevin Fenton, London's Public Health Director, said: "Flu cases are now rising rapidly, especially in young people. Be aware of the signs and symptoms and please get vaccinated, if eligible."
Dr Yvonne Young, deputy director for health protection at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in London, said that flu rates are currently highest in 5-14 year olds and that this would "be a concern" for many parents.
"We are extremely fortunate to have vaccines, which remain our best protection against severe disease and hospitalisation this winter... If you're eligible, please book your jab without delay. It will help protect yourself, your family and help reduce the burden on our health service."
About 25,000 people die of flu every year in England. Low levels of immunity in the population have sparked fears that the UK could suffer a particularly bad flu season based on the situation in Australia, where it strikes first.
Jacqueline Totterdell, the CEO of Group Chief Executive of St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals, said she was "very close" to being admitted to intensive care after falling ill with flu in December 2019. She spent three weeks in St Barts hospital battling the virus after suffering breathing difficulties.
“Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking flu is just like a heavy cold – I’m proof that it is much more serious, particularly for people in high-risk groups," she said.
"People die of flu every year, so please go and get your jab. It doesn't hurt and it protects you and others around you.”
