NHS fears as hospital flu cases soar 352%

THE NHS is braced for a long winter amid a 352% spike in flu patients in hospital and an early surge in other conditions.

- Giles Sheldrick

Numbers admitted with diarrhoea, vomiting bugs and norovirus peaked at 1,160 on Sunday.

This compares with an average of 591 cases a day in 2023.

And there were some 1,099 influenza hospital cases daily last week up from just 243 this time last year.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: "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.

"For a while there have been warnings of a 'tripledemic' of Covid, flu and respiratory syncytial virus this winter, but with rising cases of norovirus this could fast become a 'quaddemic' so it's important if you haven't had your Covid or flu jab, to follow the lead of millions of others and get protected as soon as possible."