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NHS bosses warn of 'huge' strain as hospital admissions for flu soar

The Guardian

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January 04, 2025

The number of people admitted to hospital with flu in England has quadrupled in a month, as health leaders say "huge" pressure in the NHS will only get worse as temperatures plummet this weekend.

- Andrew Gregory Michael Goodier

NHS England figures show there were 4,102 patients in hospital with flu on Christmas Day, rising sharply to 5,074 by Sunday 29 December.

There were an average of 4,469 flu patients in hospital every day last week, including 211 in critical care. This was up 17% from 3,818 the previous week, when 184 were in critical care, and was more than four times the number on 1 December, when the figure was 1,098. However, the figure was lower than this point in 2022, when it stood at 5,441.

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