NHS engulfed as number of people in hospital with flu quadruples in a month

The number of people hospitalised with flu in England has quadrupled in a month, as health chiefs warned that the NHS is under “intense pressure” that will get worse as Britain braces itself for plunging temperatures this weekend.

Figures from NHS England show there were an average of 4,469 flu patients in hospital beds in England each day last week, including 211 in critical care.

This is up 17 per cent from 3,818 the previous week, when 184 were in critical care, and is more than four times the number on 1 December, when the figure was 1,098.

NHS chiefs have warned that flu cases are rising “at a very concerning rate” and that plummeting temperatures this weekend could exacerbate health conditions suffered by the elderly and vulnerable.

The cold snap, which is expected to blanket large swathes of the UK in snow this weekend, prompted health secretary Wes Streeting to urge pensioners to “layer up” and put the heating on, leading to further condemnation of the government’s “dangerous” decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions.

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Two amber weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued by the Met Office, covering large areas of the UK, with up to 40cm of snow expected in the worst-affected areas.

NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said that people should be under “no illusions” about the health service being in a position of “national vulnerability” as pressures increase.

He said: “These winter stats bear out what local NHS leaders have been telling us directly in recent days – that the NHS is facing huge demand, from sicker patients, with very high levels of flu to deal with.

“The next two to three weeks will likely be the busiest period of the year for many local services, and we need to acknowledge the strain that this will place on staff and services.”

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Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said the figures “show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the new year”, adding that cases are “rising at a very concerning rate”.

He added: “With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected right across England ahead of the weekend, we know the low temperatures can be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions, so if you are at risk, do try and keep warm and make sure you are stocked up on any regular medication.”

As the NHS faces some of the toughest pressures it is likely to experience all year, Mr Streeting was told by charity bosses that he was leaving elderly and vulnerable people “unprotected this winter”.

It comes after the health secretary said the next few days were “definitely” a time “to turn the heating on” as temperatures plummet and snow is forecast across the country.

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson Steve Darling MP urged the government to ditch its “ill-conceived” decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

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He said: “We are about to see the heartbreaking and frankly dangerous consequences of this plan, as temperatures plummet and older people are forced to freeze. Instead of asking pensioners to layer up, the government should instead pay up and reinstate winter fuel payments.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said it had become “increasingly clear that the government’s decision to make the winter fuel payment available only to pensioners who receive pension credit has left millions of the poorest and most vulnerable older people unprotected this winter”.

The NHS is dealing with a ‘quad-demic’ of respiratory infections, a term coined to describe four viral illnesses that are expected to heap additional pressure on services in the winter months.

These are flu, Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus.

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Temperatures fell as low as -5C overnight in the UK on Thursday, with meteorologists warning that they could reach -8C. Forecasters have issued two amber weather warnings, indicating that large parts of the country will face disruption from heavy snow and freezing rain over the weekend.

There is also a “good chance” that rural communities could be cut off due to the wintry conditions, with up to 40cm of snowfall expected in some places.

An amber warning for snow and freezing rain covering most of Wales and central England, including the Midlands and the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the North West, is in place from 6pm on Saturday to midday on Sunday, the Met Office said.

The second warning for snow, covering most of northern England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District, has been issued from 9pm on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.

It comes as a seven-month-old baby also died in a collision on a dual carriageway in Lincolnshire on Thursday night, with icy conditions being considered by police as a possible factor.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a cold-health alert (CHA), warning that there will be an “increase in risk to health”, particularly for vulnerable and older people. The warning remains in place until Wednesday 8 January.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, a health protection chief at UKHSA, said vulnerable people will be more at risk of “heart attacks, stroke and chest infections as a result of cold temperatures”.

New NHS figures also show that 32.1 per cent of patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams.

This is higher than the equivalent week last winter, when the proportion stood at 28.9 per cent. Some 12.9 per cent of ambulance handovers last week, or 12,229 patients, were delayed by more than an hour.