Christmas and New Year gatherings may have caused a bounce back in winter viruses, as the health service also grapples with a vicious cold snap. Figures published today show that the number of patients in hospital beds with flu has risen by 9% on the previous week (2,924), following two weeks where that number had fallen. […]

The number of people in hospital with flu dropped off during Christmas week (w/e 28 December), but England’s top doctor has warned that the NHS is ‘far from complacent’ during the cold snap. Amber and yellow cold health alerts for England have been issued by UKHSA as temperatures have fallen in recent days to drop below […]

Flu cases have begun to steady but hospital cases still surpassed 3,000 in the week before Christmas, a slight fall on the week before, according to new figures published today. Thanks in part to NHS staff ramping up vaccination efforts with half a million more people protected against flu compared to the same period last […]

Hospitals in England are “on high alert” this week, amid industrial action and a continuing stream of winter viruses. Flu cases in hospital reached 3,140 by the end of last week – the highest ever for this time of year and up 18% on the week before. While the number of patients in hospital with […]

The NHS is urging patients not to put off coming forward for care, with thousands of resident doctors expected to walk out on strike for five days from today. Industrial action begins at 7am today (Wednesday 17 December) – lasting until 7am on Monday 22 December – and hospital teams across the country are working […]

Flu hospitalisations have surged by more than half in just one week, plunging the NHS into a “worst case scenario” situation for December, new figures reveal today.  An average of 2,660 patients per day were in a hospital bed with flu last week – the highest ever for this time of year and up 55% […]

The NHS is facing an unprecedented flu wave this winter with “no peak in sight yet” according to England’s top emergency care doctor. Latest figures show an average of 1,717 patients were in a hospital bed every day last week because of flu – the highest on record for this time of year. Cases were […]

NHS teams across the country are ramping up their winter flu vaccine offer in the lead up to Christmas – hitting the high street and local shopping centres in a bid to bring the vaccine closer to patients across the Black Friday sales. The country-wide vaccination drive kicks off this weekend with those eligible for […]

The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter. The overall waiting list for September was 7.39 million (an estimated 6.24 million patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July […]

The NHS has issued a ‘flu jab SOS’, with England’s top nurse warning people to get protected now, with only weeks to go before the worst of the flu season typically bites. Eligible adults are being urged to come forward now, so they are fully protected ahead of the usual flu season peak in the […]