Winter news, advice and blogs

NHS England’s winter news, advice from Clinical Directors and blogs can be found here. It is important the public know what they need to do to keep well and advice on how to keep well and where to get expert advice will be given throughout the winter and can be found on the NHS website.

NHS England comment on latest weekly winter sitrep figures

Commenting on the final weekly sitrep for this winter, Professor Julian Redhead, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care, said: “Today’s figures highlight just how hard staff across the NHS have worked this winter in the face of significant demand and ongoing industrial action, with more than 1.7 million people taken to hospitals by […]

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Ambulance handovers improve despite increased demand and ongoing winter pressures

England’s top doctor has praised the hard work of staff as new data shows ambulance handover delays have improved despite increased demand, alongside continued pressure from winter viruses and industrial action. The weekly winter figures, published today, show that the hours lost to ambulance handover delays dropped to 18,799 in the week ending February 25, […]

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NHS facing further strike disruption amid ongoing winter demand

The NHS is facing further strike disruption this week amid continued high demand for services, as its top doctor warns more than one in 10 days have been impacted by strike action in the past year. Strike action by junior doctors will run from 7am on Saturday (24 February) to midnight on Wednesday (28 February) […]

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NHS waiting list falls for third month in a row, thanks to efforts of staff

The NHS waiting list fell in December for the third month running, while winter pressure continued to hit the health service hard with A&E and ambulance services experiencing their busiest ever January. England’s top doctor hailed the hard work and dedication of staff as new figures show the number of patients waiting for elective treatment […]

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Norovirus and flu cases in hospitals surge to a new high this winter

The NHS’s top emergency doctor has warned the health service is still in the thick of winter, with norovirus and flu cases at their highest levels this winter and up three-quarters on the same week last year. The latest weekly winter data shows an average of 688 patients were in hospital each day last week […]

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NHS delivers on ambition of 5,000 more permanent beds

The head of the NHS has praised the hard work of staff for rolling out 5,000 additional permanent, staffed beds this winter – during a period of industrial action and significant pressure. New figures published today show last week, hospitals across the country had an average of 99,750 core beds in place each day – […]

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Norovirus cases grow as thousands still in hospital with winter viruses

Thousands of people were in hospital with seasonal viruses last week – including rising numbers with norovirus – as NHS staff continue to deal with a range of winter pressures. The latest weekly update shows there were an average of 452 patients with diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms in hospital each day – up by a […]

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Busiest week for ambulances alongside significant improvements thanks to winter plans

NHS staff faced the busiest week for ambulances so far this winter with more than 93,500 arriving at hospitals to hand over patients, alongside significant performance improvements. New weekly data shows that extensive winter NHS planning is continuing to pay off, with hours lost to ambulance handover delays more than halved compared to last year, […]

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NHS England comment on the latest round of industrial action

Commenting on the latest round of industrial action, NHS National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “As the longest strike in the history of the NHS begins during one of the busiest and most challenging weeks of the year – the health service is experiencing the winter pressures of flu and Covid combined with […]

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