Surge in hospital flu cases

Bed occupancy to hit record

- BY MARTIN BAGOT Health Editor

FLU patients will be occupying the most hospital beds on record by next week, an NHS boss predicts.

Official NHS England data released yesterday showed that 1,717 beds were occupied with flu cases.

But Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of the NHS in England, told a board meeting that this figure could rise to between 5,000 and 8,000 next week.