NHS officials say fears of a ‘twin epidemic’ of flu and Covid wreaking havoc on healthcare have now come true.
Official data shows that hospital admissions for flu in England increased sevenfold from the previous month, with nearly 4,000 patients a day hospitalized by the virus last week.
Meanwhile, nearly 9,000 patients on wards have been infected with Covid – the highest number in two months – as the virus forces 8,000 staff to call in sick every day.
NHS England medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said the data showed fears of a ‘twindemia’ of the two viruses have been ‘realised’.
The flu nami has swept the NHS in England, the health service’s latest round of data shows, with more than 3,800 admissions for the virus as of December 23. Graph shows the number of beds on wards occupied by people with flu (red) and the number of beds occupied by the virus in the intensive care unit (blue)
Data from NHS England showed today that an average of 63,000 staff were off work each day in the week leading up to Christmas (red line). About 8,000 of the absences were due to Covid (blue line)
The latest Covid daily admissions data shows that nearly 1,300 people infected with the virus were hospitalized as of December 19. The figure is up by a third week-over-week
The number of Covid-infected people taking up beds in wards across England rose to over 8,600 on December 21, the latest available data shows. The figure is up 29 percent in a week
The flu wave that swept the NHS, dubbed the ‘flu-nami’, saw 3,746 people hospitalized every day in the week to 25 December.
Of those, 267 were in critical care beds, meaning they were in extremely serious condition.
The total number of hospital admissions increased by 80 percent compared to the previous week.
It’s also a seven-fold increase from November — when just 520 patients were sick with the winter bug — and more than 100 times more than last December, when just 34 flu patients were hospitalized, two of whom required critical care. had.
Flu admissions peaked on Dec. 23, when 3,880 patients were in general beds and 288 in intensive care.
The number fell slightly on Christmas Day, according to the latest available data, with 3,849 general patients and 279 intensive care admissions.
Flu pressure is exacerbated by admissions and staff illness due to Covid.
The latest data on Covid hospitalizations shows that nearly 1,300 people infected with the virus were admitted as of December 19. This figure has increased by a third week-over-week.
The number of people with Covid going to bed rose to over 8,600 on Dec. 21, the latest available data shows. The figure is up 29 percent in a week.
Meanwhile, figures from the NHS show that an average of 63,296 staff were sick each day in the week leading up to Christmas – an increase of 20 per cent in a month.
Of these, 8,029 (12 percent) blamed Covid for their absence. In comparison, on the same date in November, only 5,441 were sick due to the virus.
21 December was the worst day for NHS staff to be sick, with 66,191 disabled that day.
Covid-related absences also peaked on December 21, with 8,525 staff members sick with the virus.
Staff illness is putting increasing pressure on the healthcare system as hospitals have fewer doctors to care for more patients.
MailOnline revealed yesterday that flu vaccine uptake among NHS staff this year was at its lowest level since 2012.
Ambulance transfer delays peaked on December 19 with more than 3,000 patients waiting for more than an hour in the back of an emergency vehicle that could not be unloaded to a hospital bed
NHS England medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said the data showed fears of a ‘twindemia’ of the two viruses ‘have been realised’
Professor Powis, the national medical director of the NHS, said the data showed fears of a ‘twindemia’ that would put additional strain on the NHS had come true.
“Unfortunately, these latest flu numbers show that our fears of a ‘tindexemia’ have come true,” he said.
He also pointed to the problems with bed blockers, patients who are well enough to leave the hospital but need care at home but are unable to leave because of a lack of social care capacity.
“In addition to flu, the NHS continues to be under great pressure, with high bed occupancy and more than 12,000 beds taken by patients who are medically fit for discharge,” he said.
Bed blockers reduce hospital capacity for further admissions.
The crisis is one factor behind record emergency room wait times and ambulances being trapped outside hospitals unable to unload patients.
The NHS recorded its worst day this winter for ambulance handovers this month, data revealed today shows.
On December 19, more than 3,000 patients were trapped in ambulances for more than an hour, which could not be transferred to hospital staff due to a lack of beds.
Beds, in NHS terminology, mean not only the bed itself, but also the medical staff required to care for the patients.
The combination of rising winter viruses, Covid, staff illness and bed blockers have been cited as factors in several NHS trusts in England reporting critical incidents over the past week meaning patient safety is at risk.
Others have banned visitors in an effort to stem the flow of winter bugs into hospitals and reintroduce mask mandates.
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