Professor Sir Stephen Powis has claimed rising flu and norovirus cases are adding additional strain onto an already stretched service.
England’s medical director, Stephen Powis, has remarked that we’re only at the beginning of the month and around 95% of hospital beds are already occupied – rates normally seen later in winter.
There’s a number of reasons the health service is so busy including rising norovirus – a stomach bug – and flu cases. Figures from the NHS – the first set to be published this winter – show that the number of people in hospital with the flu has reached nearly 1,100 four time times higher than this time last year and almost 1,400 beds were occupied by Covid patients and 750 by norovirus.
The research is based on 100,000 hospital beds, though with 95,000 already taken concerns have been cast that there is very little wiggle room if these numbers continue to rise.
‘The NHS is busier than it has ever been before heading into winter, with flu and norovirus numbers in hospital rising sharply – and we are still only at the start of December, so we expect pressure to increase and there is a long winter ahead of us,’ Sir Powis said.
For a while there have been warning of a ‘tripledemic’ of Covid, flu and RSV this winter, but with rising cases of norovirus this could fast before a ‘quaddemic’.
Echoing a similar tone, Rory Deighton, of the NHS Confederation, added: ‘These figures are deeply worrying as they provide yet more evidence the NHS is already under considerable strain before the pressures of winter have peaked.
‘We knew that the health service was running hot, with A&Es, ambulances and general practice having their busiest October on record. But it is clear that the impact from seasonal viruses is being felt much earlier than in previous years.’
News of the NHS’ struggles has come as the UK government is preparing to finalise it’s 10-year health plan – issues including a severe lack of hospital beds is just one of the reasons reform is urgently needed.
Against this backdrop, today health secretary Wes Streeting has advised health chiefs in England to prioritise safety even if it means performance against the four-hour A&E target slips this winter.
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