Flu related admissions are up 56% year-on-year as NHS England raises concerns over mounting pressures.
Flu hospitalisations in England have surged more than 50% compared with the same week in 2024, according to the first NHS winter situation report of the season.
The report shows an average of 1,717 patients with flu in hospital beds each day last week, including 69 in critical care, compared with 1,098 patients and 39 in intensive care at the same point last year. This represents a 56% increase in flu admissions.
The figures also surpass early-season numbers from previous years. In 2023, hospitals recorded 243 flu patients, and in 2022 the figure was 772, highlighting a rising trend in winter respiratory illness.
The report also notes that beds occupied by adult patients with diarrhoea, vomiting, or norovirus-like symptoms averaged 261 last week, down from 751 at this time in 2024. Including children, total beds for suspected norovirus cases averaged 263, compared with 756 last year.
Emergency services continue to feel pressure, but some improvements are evident. 30% of patients arriving by ambulance waited more than 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, down from 36% in the same week of 2024. Around 9,580 patients, or 10%, experienced handover delays of more than an hour, compared with 16% last year.
The NHS described the figures as a snapshot of the challenges facing hospitals this winter, noting that while flu admissions have risen sharply, lower norovirus levels and slightly improved ambulance handovers provide a mixed picture.