Flu continues to spread in England with number of hospital patients up 79%

The NHS is facing an ongoing surge in flu cases, with the number of patients in hospital in England up nearly 80% in the past week.

According to figures published on Friday, 3,746 people a day were hospitalised with flu in the seven days to 25 December, up from 2,088 a day in the week before, an increase of 79.4%.

The sharp rise continues a worrying trend, with flu hospitalisations soaring sevenfold over the past month. At the same point in November, only 520 flu patients were being hospitalised each day.

The wave of influenza infections coincides with a seasonal surge in Covid, confirming earlier fears that the NHS would face a “twindemic” this winter, ramping up pressure on an already struggling health service. The number of NHS staff off sick with Covid each day was up more than 47% on last month, the NHS figures show, rising from 5,448 to 8,029.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, said: “Sadly, these latest flu numbers show our fears of a twindemic have been realised, with cases up sevenfold in just a month and the continued impact of Covid hitting staff hard, with related absences up almost 50% on the end of November.”

After a two-year hiatus due to Covid restrictions, respiratory viruses have begun to recirculate in the population, in many cases bouncing back hard and causing rapid rises in illness. Of those people in hospital with flu last week, 267 were in critical-care beds. At the same time last year, 34 patients were in hospital with flu, and only two were in critical care.

In the face of the winter surge, bed occupancy has reached more than 93%, up from 86% for the same period last year. The difficulty in discharging patients is still affecting hospital capacity, with 12,313 beds a day taken up by patients fit to be discharged.

Powis said: “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.”

Dr Conall Watson, a consultant epidemiologist on influenza and seasonal respiratory viruses at the UK Health Security Agency, said flu was expected to continue spreading over the holiday period as people socialise and mix indoors.

“If you’re feeling unwell, please take steps to avoid spreading flu or other viruses to more vulnerable people by staying at home, catching coughs and sneezes in tissues, washing hands well and, if you do have to go out, then wear a mask,” he said.

“Flu has put people of all ages into hospital and intensive care and this is likely to continue through the winter. Far more people have needed ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation], the highest level of lung intensive care, for flu than for Covid-19 this winter. Getting vaccinated against flu can help keep you out of hospital.”

People who are eligible but have not yet had their flu jab can book online. The vaccines are available at medical centres and pharmacies around the country.