Alarm as skyrocketing flu cases add to NHS strains

Flu instances are skyrocketing, inflicting big issues for hospitals, NHS England bosses are warning.

Final week the variety of sufferers in hospital in England with the virus topped 5,400 a day on common – round 1,000 greater than every week earlier than.

NHS England’s Prof Julian Redhead mentioned instances had been going up at a “regarding fee” with hospitals “bursting with sufferers”.

He mentioned this was inflicting delays in A&E and for ambulances as employees struggled to deal with the calls for being positioned on them.

It comes as round 20 NHS trusts have been compelled to declare vital incidents due to the pressures they’re going through.

Prof Redhead, NHS England’s nationwide director for emergency care, mentioned the “skyrocketing” flu instances got here on high of continued strain being brought on by different viruses, together with Covid and the vomiting bug Norovirus.

He apologised for the issues being seen, saying employees had been annoyed with the standard of care being offered underneath such pressures.

“I am actually pleased with the way in which my colleagues have responded to the strain…however no one desires to see delays within the ambulances going out and the delays in sufferers attending to beds that they want. Nobody can be pleased with that system which is happening.”

The variety of sufferers with flu is greater than 3 times greater than they had been this time final 12 months – and at the moment are on par with what was seen in early 2023 – one of many worst flu seasons for a few years.

Together with the dangerous climate and flooding, it has meant the NHS has had a “brutal” begin to the brand new 12 months, in keeping with Saffron Cordery, of NHS Suppliers, which represents well being managers.

And she or he added: “We’re not out of the woods but. Issues are prone to worsen earlier than they get higher.

“Stresses and strains on emergency companies are an enormous concern with many sufferers going through lengthy waits for ambulances and in A&Es.”

Liz Shearer is only one of many individuals who’ve shared their experiences with the PJDM of the care being offered.

Her aged mom spent greater than 30 hours in a hall on a hospital trolley final week as a result of there have been no bays out there. She was taken to hospital after collapsing at her care dwelling.

“I’ve by no means skilled something like that in my life. It was like a Victorian workhouse. The nurses had been saying how dangerous it’s, they usually had been saying they simply needed to crack on with it.”

Yvonne Wolstenholme spent 13 hours in A&E after she was despatched there by her GP as a result of she was struggling to breathe.

“It was completely heaving,” she mentioned. “Workers are snowed underneath, they are surely speeding round like headless chickens and it is not due to an absence of talent, it is the shortage of time to see particular person sufferers.

“Whereas I used to be there, there have been not less than eight ambulance crews ready at hand over sufferers and clearly they don’t seem to be out on the streets if they’re there ready.”

Official figures launched on Thursday confirmed simply how a lot the emergency care system was struggling.

• The common ambulance response time for instantly life-threatening class one calls, resembling cardiac arrests, was 8 minutes 40 seconds in December. The goal is 7 minutes
• For class two calls, which incorporates coronary heart assaults and strokes, it was 47 minutes 26 seconds. The goal is eighteen minutes
• Simply 71% of sufferers visiting A&E had been seen and handled or admitted inside the goal time of 4 hours

However there was extra constructive information on routine therapy, with the hospital ready record falling to 7.48 million on the finish of November – down from 7.54 million the month earlier than and beneath the record-high of seven.77 million in September 2023.

Related pressures are being skilled in different elements of the UK with Scotland, Wales and Northern Eire all lacking their key targets.

The Royal Faculty of Emergency Medication in Scotland mentioned this week hosptials there have been “gridlocked” and in the course of their very own winter disaster.

Dr Tim Cooksley, of of the Society for Acute Medication, mentioned the NHS was experiencing an “appalling” winter disaster.

“The truth for sufferers and employees is corridors filled with sufferers experiencing degrading care, being handled within the backs of ambulances as a result of there’s merely no area in hospital and the immense bodily and emotional hurt that inevitably outcomes.

“The elemental situation is that there’s a continued lack of capability all year long – a troublesome flu season should not be used as a political excuse for the present scenario.”