NHS Faces Severe Strain as Flu Admissions Soar and Resident Doctors Prepare to Strike
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned of a 'double whammy' facing the NHS due to rising flu admissions coupled with a forthcoming five-day strike by resident doctors, describing it as probably the worst pressure on the NHS since the Covid pandemic.
NHS England reported that in the week to Sunday, an average of 2,660 flu patients were in hospital each day, equivalent to filling three hospitals. Flu admissions have risen more than 50% in the past week with no peak yet observed. A mutated strain, dubbed 'super flu', is circulating but is not more severe or harder to treat.
The resident doctors' strike in England is set to begin on 17 December, with the British Medical Association polling members to decide whether to call off the action. Health Secretary Streeting has offered to delay the strike until January.
Officials have warned that flu patient numbers in hospitals could exceed 5,000 by the weekend. Although there are no plans to recommend widespread mask-wearing, visitors to hospitals or care homes may be asked to wear masks.
NHS London medical director Chris Streather stated that while the flu situation is challenging, it remains within NHS capacity and that hospitals are now better prepared than during the Covid era.
The highest hospital admission rates for flu in England are among people over 75 and under five years old, while those aged five to 14 have the highest positivity rates. The dominant flu strain is H3N2 with genetic changes; however, current vaccines remain effective, though protection takes up to two weeks to develop after vaccination.
