There are also three times as many people in hospital with a sickness and diarrhoea bug
The number of people in hospital in England with flu is more than 50% higher than the figure at this point in 2024, according to the first of this year’s NHS winter situation reports. An average of 1,717 flu patients were in beds in England each day last week, including 69 in critical care.
This is up sharply by 56% on the equivalent numbers for the same week in 2024, when the total was 1,098 with 39 in critical care. It is also higher than at this point in 2023, when there were an average of 243 flu patients, and in 2022, when the average was 772.
The figures have been published by the NHS as part of its first weekly snapshot of the performance of hospitals in England this winter. An average of 261 adult hospital beds in England were filled last week by patients with diarrhoea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms, compared with 751 at this point last year.
The total number of beds filled by patients with norovirus symptoms – including children in paediatric wards – averaged 263 last week, much lower than the 756 for this week in 2024.
The NHS situation report also shows that 30% of patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams. This is lower than 36% in the equivalent week in 2024.
Some 10% of ambulance handovers last week, or 9,580 patients, were delayed by more than an hour, compared with 16% at this point in 2024.
