England’s emergency services are battling their ‘busiest winter ever’ as flu cases continue to soar, health chiefs warned today.
More than 2.3million patients visited A&E in December while ambulance teams tackled over 800,000 incidents — the highest number ever recorded in a single month.
Separate surveillance data that monitors England’s flu outbreak also suggests hospital admissions are up a fifth in a week and nearly five times the level recorded in early December.
Figures show more than 5,400 beds alone were taken up by flu patients every day last week, up 3.5 times on the same week last year.
Of these, 254 were in critical care — up a fifth on the previous week.
Rates of the winter vomiting bug norovirus, meanwhile, are almost 50 per cent higher than expected for this time of year.
England’s top doctor today warned that NHS staff were under ‘intense pressure’ and faced a situation ‘similar to the days at the height of the pandemic’.
The crisis has already led to a dozen hospitals declaring critical incidents meaning they are struggling to provide safe care to patients.
Experts also fear the UK’s ‘dangerous’ cold spell will continue to pile pressure on already stretched hospitals.
Just this week the UK Health Security Agency extended its ‘amber’ cold-health alert, until 12pm Sunday January 12. The previous alert was due to expire yesterday.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said: ‘It is clear that hospitals are under exceptional pressure at the start of this new year, with mammoth demand stemming from this ongoing cold weather snap and respiratory viruses like flu.
‘All on the back of 2024 being the busiest year on record for A&E and ambulance teams.
‘I never fail to be impressed by the remarkable job that NHS staff across a range of services in the face of current challenges, remaining compassionate, professional and doing everything they can to see patients as quickly as possible while often working in hospitals that are full to bursting.
‘It is hard to quantify just through the data how tough it is for frontline staff at the moment – with some staff working in A&E saying that their days at work feel like some of the days we had during the height of the pandemic.
‘As the incredibly busy winter continues and hospitals clearly experience intense pressure, please do continue to only use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies.
‘Use NHS 111 and 111 online for other conditions, as well as using your local GP and pharmacy services in the usual way.’
Multiple NHS hospitals have now declared ‘critical incidents’ as the health service continues to be battered by flu admissions amid an ongoing ‘quademic’ of winter viruses
NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, today warned that NHS staff were under ‘intense pressure’ and faced with a situation ‘similar to the days at the height of the pandemic’
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting added: ‘Despite the best efforts of staff, patients are still receiving unacceptable standards of care.
‘Although this winter’s campaign vaccinated more people than last winter, this strain of flu has hit hard, putting more than three times as many patients into hospital compared to this time last year.
‘Annual winter pressures should not mean an annual winter crisis, which is why this government is making significant investment in the NHS, undertaking fundamental reform, and acting now to improve social care.
‘It will take time to turn the NHS around, but the fact that waiting lists are now falling shows that change is possible.’
According to the latest NHS weekly figures there were an average of 5,407 flu patients in hospital in England every day last week.
By comparison, the figure stood at 1,548 over the same period last year. It is slightly lower, however, than this point two years ago.
More than 620 hospital beds in England were also filled each day last week by patients with diarrhoea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms.
This is up almost a fifth on the 528 in the previous week and almost 50 per cent on the same point last year (424).
Graphic shows the common symptoms (green tick), occasional and possible symptoms (orange circle) and the symptoms that never occur (red cross) with the common cold, flu and Covid
RSV — which is most common in infants and young children — was up almost half on the same period in 2023.
More than 1,100 beds were also occupied by patients with Covid.
Some hospitals have begun to limit visiting hours and have imposed mask mandates over fears of rising ‘quad-demic’ cases.
At least a dozen have also now declared ‘critical incidents’.
These include South Warwickshire University NHS Trust, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, and the The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.
Critical incident is an NHS term that’s used by hospitals when they can no longer guarantee that patient care can be delivered safely.
Such incidents are typically declared in response to overwhelming demand or infrastructure failure.
The NHS data also showed more than 4 in 10 patients arriving by ambulance to hospitals in England last week waited at least half an hour to be handed over to A&E teams — the highest figure so far this winter.
More than a fifth of handovers — 19,554 patients — were delayed by more than an hour, again the highest figure so far this winter and almost double the same point last year.
Separate ambulance figures for December released by the health service today, also found response times had slumped.
Heart attack and stroke patients in England, known as category two callers, had to wait an average of 47 minutes and 26 seconds for paramedics to arrive on the scene.
This is five minutes slower than November and two and a half times as long as the 18 minute target.
The average category one response time — calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries — was 8 minutes and 40 seconds. This is just 2 seconds longer than the previous month. The target time is seven minutes.
Ambulance teams handled more than 806,000 incidents in December taking the total number for 2024 to 8.94million — up more than 600,000 on 2023.
Meanwhile, NHS England monthly A&E performance data released today shows over 54,000 attendees in December had to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged.
Some 71 per cent of patients were seen within four hours — the health service’s target is 95 per cent.
Norovirus can appear similar the symptoms of Covid, with both viruses causing chills, fever and headaches
But these figures only look at trolley waits — the time between doctors deciding a patient needs to be admitted and them getting a bed.
Figures capturing exact arrival times at A&E paint a much bleaker picture, with 166,989 patients (12 per cent) forced to wait at least 12 hours.
This is up almost 10,000 on the 157,556 recorded in November 2024.
Experts today warned Brits were ‘doomed to witness the same scenario for the forseeable future’ and criticised Government plans to reduce the NHS waiting list given the ‘crisis in emergency care’.
Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: ‘The reality for patients and staff is corridors full of patients experiencing degrading care, being treated in the backs of ambulances because there is simply no space in hospital and the immense physical and emotional harm that inevitably results.
‘This was predictable and inevitable given that hospitals were bursting at the seams before the ‘quad-demic’ of winter viruses hit.
‘The fundamental issue is that there is a continued lack of capacity throughout the year: a tough flu season must not be used as a political excuse for the current situation.
‘Its foundations are much deeper and unless we address those, we are doomed to witness the same scenario for the foreseeable future.
‘It is also deeply flawed to believe we can deliver an elective recovery whilst there remains a crisis in urgent and emergency care.
‘We must now address these issues of capacity and workforce. They are not quick to do so; thus the need to start that journey now is imperative.
‘Artificial quick wins are failing and will inevitably continue to do so.’
