The number of flu patients in London hospitals is up by two-thirds in a week, data shows, as the NHS braces for the longest junior doctors strike in history.
An average of 218 patients were in hospital in the capital each day last week with the virus, a rise of 66 per cent on the week before.
It is an increase of 152 per cent on the figure reported a fortnight ago but remains below the equivalent recorded last year, when the UK experienced its worst flu season in years.
The figures showed that 86 per cent of London hospital beds were occupied on Christmas Eve. In some NHS trusts, occupancy was as high as 94.5 per cent.
Norovirus is also continuing to have an impact with an average of 452 patients in hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms each day. That is 61 per cent higher than the 281 patients the same week last year.
It comes as the NHS prepares for another spell of industrial action by junior doctors in England, with a 72-hour strike from December 20 to 23 due to be followed by a six-day strike in early January. The strike over pay will begin on January 3.
One of the NHS’ most senior doctors said the data showed that the health service was under a “storm of pressure” ahead of the action by the British Medical Association (BMA).
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “As always, I would urge the public to get their Covid and flu vaccines if they are eligible, make sure you order repeat prescriptions in advance of the upcoming bank holiday weekend and, as ever, only use 999 or A&E in an emergency, with 111 online the best place to go for any other conditions.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the figures showed the NHS was “running hot”.
He said the additional pressure of winter viruses had left health leaders “approaching the new year with a sense of foreboding and trepidation”.
“There are five days until the next strikes are due to begin and so, it is not too late for the BMA and government to have one final attempt to find some common ground so that they can be called off,” he added.
However, other figures showed signs of improvement in NHS services in the run up to Christmas.
Around 17 per cent of ambulances took more than 30 minutes to hand over a patient to London A&Es on December 23 – a drop of 8 per cent on the week before.
An average of 6,120 NHS workers in London were off sick in the week up to December 24 – a slight decrease on a fortnight ago.
However, the number of London staff absent due to Covid increased by 45 per cent in the same period amid rising cases of the virus in the capital.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimate that around 6.1 per cent of Londoners had the virus as of December 14, by far the highest proportion of any region.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, described the drop in handover delays as “encouraging” and said: “Careful planning and hard work are making their mark, but there is every prospect of the challenges intensifying in the coming weeks.
“As we head towards the new year we urge the Government and unions to think afresh, and find a way to resolve the damaging and demoralising industrial dispute which has caused so much disruption for patients.
“There is still time to head off the longest strike in the history of the NHS.”
