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 […]

Record industrial action this week could see one of the most difficult starts to the year for health services across the country, the NHS has said today. Junior doctors strike from tomorrow (Wednesday 3 January) at 7am, until 7am on Tuesday 9 January – the longest consecutive strike action ever taken in the history of […]

Thousands of people were in hospital with winter viruses last week, including over 940 patients with flu, as staff contended with significant winter pressure on top of the impact of industrial action. The latest figures for the week to Christmas Eve show there were an average of 942 patients with flu in hospital each day […]

The number of people in hospital with flu has increased by almost two thirds in a week, new NHS figures show today. Despite intensified efforts from hardworking staff to prepare for winter pressures, the latest weekly update shows thousands of hospital beds are taken up by patients with flu and other viruses. Ahead of this […]

Thanks to the hard work and widespread innovation of NHS staff the waiting list has reduced, new monthly data shows today, alongside faster ambulance response times across the country. Despite huge disruption from industrial action and ongoing record levels of demand for emergency care, monthly performance data shows the number of patients waiting for elective […]

Hundreds of new staff have joined the emergency care workforce ahead of winter – including as paramedics and call handlers – with warnings of significant pressure due to winter viruses over the next few months. The numbers of both 999 and 111 call handlers are up on last December (8% and 5% respectively), meaning hundreds […]

Frontline doctors are warning winter virus cases are “creeping up” alongside pressure on emergency departments, with new NHS data showing the number of flu patients in hospital is up more than half in a week. Today’s figures show an average of 234 people were in hospital with flu every day last week, up 53% on […]

With just two weeks until online bookings for COVID and flu vaccines close, the NHS is urging anyone still eligible for these vaccines to book an appointment and get potentially lifesaving protection ahead of Christmas. The NHS online booking system, NHS App and 119 phone service will be closed for flu and COVID vaccine bookings […]

The number of patients in hospital with norovirus last week was almost triple the number during the same period last winter, new NHS figures show today. An average of 351 people were in hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms every day last week compared to 126 in the same week last year. There were also […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) will spot patients at risk of needing to go to hospital so community NHS teams can get to them first and reduce pressures on A&Es, as part of a range of tech and data solutions being rolled out across the NHS ahead of winter. Four GP practices in Somerset are trialling an […]