England sees a sharp rise in flu cases, over 5,000 patients treated last week

England's National Health Service (NHS) warned on Friday (Jan 3) that the number of people with flu in hospitals has surged over Christmas, stressing that it is rising sharply "at a very concerning rate".

There were 5,000 patients being treated for the virus in hospitals at the end of last week, according to the latest data, which is almost 3.5 times higher than the same week in 2023. However, it is not as high as in 2022.

The emergency doctors told the BBC that pressure on hospitals is unacceptably awful" and flu is pushing them to breaking point.

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Health officials have also warned of the impact of very cold weather over this weekend on vulnerable patients.

NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, Prof Julian Redhead, said that the figures show "the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the New Year, skyrocketing to over 5,000 cases a day in hospitals as of the end of last week and rising at a very concerning rate".

He further said that the low temperatures can be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions.

The professor said that the people at risk should try and keep warm, making sure they have stocked up on regular medications.

Hospital preparedness amid rise in flu

This year, hospitals have put extra beds in place to deal with the rise in flu cases and other winter viruses, including Covid and norovirus ((the winter vomiting bug).

Moreover, some of the hospitals in different regions of England have also restricted visits and asked patients and visitors to wear face masks to prevent the spread of the flu virus.

The pressures on emergency departments of the hospital were "unacceptably awful", Dr Adrian Boyle, head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told BBC Radio 4's Today program.

He further said that there was an enormous amount of avoidable harm, "excess deaths that shouldn't be happening."

"Flu is the straw that is breaking the camel's back because we have this chronic lack of beds within our hospitals and we don't use those beds properly because we haven't reformed social care," he added.

Earlier this week, First Minister John Swinney stressed that the NHS was under "very significant pressures".

Moreover, a Welsh government spokesperson also said that there were continued "high levels of demand" on urgent and emergency care services this winter, adding that an increase in flu cases has caused more pressure during Christmas.

This comes amid reports surfacing that five years after the Covid pandemic, China is now facing another virus outbreak.

According to reports and social media posts, the country is dealing with an outbreak of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV).

As per social media posts, a state of emergency has been declared in China as not just HMPV, but other viruses including Influenza A are rapidly spreading.

(With inputs from agencies)