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The NHS is facing a “tidal wave” of illness ahead of Christmas as flu cases reach the highest on record for this time of year, health chiefs have warned.
Figures show 1,717 patients were admitted to hospital with flu each day last week, up from 1,098 in 2024.
This is 56 per cent higher than this time last year, according to NHS England statistics.
Data suggests the UK could be facing the worst flu season for decades, placing pressure on hospitals just as resident doctors are set to stage another five-day strike amid a row over pay and conditions.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are set to walk out from 17 to 22 December, after the union accused the government of failing to make “sufficient progress towards a viable deal on jobs and pay”.
The number of people in hospital with flu in England is more than 50 per cent higher than at this time last year (PA Wire)
The health secretary Wes Streeting branded the strike “irresponsible”, warning that the dates, just before the Christmas bank holidays and when the NHS is often in the midst of a ‘winter crisis’, represented a “different magnitude of risk” to previous industrial action.
The latest flu figures have been published by the NHS to show the performance of hospitals in England this winter. They are ten times higher than in 2023, which saw an average of 243 flu patients a day.
Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “The NHS is facing a tidal wave of flu. It’s very worrying to see the figures at a record high for the time of year — and still heading up.
“That’s alongside all the other winter bugs piling the pressure on the NHS. The last thing anyone needs now is the prospect of another strike by resident doctors, bringing yet more disruption and distress for patients.
“We urge the BMA to see sense, get round the table with the government and end the dispute, so we can have all hands on deck in the lead-up to Christmas.”
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King’s Fund, said: “Today’s data confirms that the NHS is entering the most challenging period of the year with pressures hitting the health and care service from all directions.
“Rising flu waves and industrial action are all adding strain to a system which is already struggling to deliver timely care for patients. The flu season started unusually early this year and is yet to peak, so it is too soon to know how long this surge will be sustained for.”
