NHS data shows hundreds of North East patients are in hospital with flu - an astonishing jump from just a handful six weeks ago.
In mid-November, there were just 11 flu patients across three North East hospital trusts. By New Year's Day, there were an astonishing 295, including 11 requiring critical care. Figures from South Tyneside and Sunderland and County Durham and Darlington are not available.
On November 14 - the first date on which the NHS's daily winter situation reports collected figures for flu patients in hospital beds this winter - there were just 11 patients in beds across the Newcastle Hospitals, Northumbria Healthcare and Gateshead Health NHS Trusts. But by the start of 2023, there were almost 300.
