Number of people in hospital with flu ‘rising at a very concerning rate’
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The number of people in hospital with flu in England is rising at a “very concerning rate” and is more than four times the level it was a month ago, according to NHS data. Figures from NHS England show an average of 4,469 flu patients were in beds in England each day last week, including 211 in critical care.
This is up 17% from 3,818 the previous week, when 184 were in critical care and is more than four times the number on December 1, when the figure was 1,098. When comparing to last winter, the average number of flu patients in hospital in England each day last week is up sharply on the equivalent week last year when the average was 1,312.
However, it is lower than this point two years ago, when the figure stood at 5,441. Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said the figures “show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the New Year” and cases are “rising at a very concerning rate.”.
The data also showed an average of 528 hospital beds in England were filled each day last week by patients with diarrhoea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms, down from 723 the previous week but higher than the equivalent figure at this point last winter (377) and two years ago (338).
There were also an average of 74 children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in hospital wards in England last week, down from 87 the previous week but higher than at this point a year ago (50). The number of hospital beds occupied each day by patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 averaged 1,184, down week-on-week from 1,277.
